The child swallowed a foreign body. What to do?

This can happen to even the most attentive parents. It always causes a lot of stress. The action if a child swallows an object depends on what ended up in the mouth and then - probably - in the stomach. Doctors emphasize that the most dangerous are sharp objects, batteries and magnets. It would be difficult for the child to excrete them naturally, and in the meantime they may damage the digestive tract. The worst thing is when such an object gets stuck in the esophagus . Then symptoms immediately appear, such as choking, pain when swallowing and swallowing disorders, shortness of breath, and vomiting. When the swallowed item moves on, it usually doesn't cause symptoms - for a while. However, symptoms will appear quickly if one of the walls of the digestive tract is perforated. Then a fever appears , the heart starts beating faster , and the basic symptom is abdominal pain .

If your child has swallowed a foreign body, you must act immediately.

If a child has swallowed a metal screw, piece of jewelry or a coin, there is more time. We (relatively) go to the doctor , explain the situation and (most likely) take an X-ray. This is to ensure that the item has actually been swallowed. Sometimes we are not sure because we were not there and the child is too young to say what happened. Note: X-ray will only show metal objects, it will not capture plastic elements or, for example, bones. In over 90% of cases, swallowing such an object - blurry, small - simply ends with its expulsion . You have to be patient and wait. It usually takes up to a week.

The doctor may also recommend medication to facilitate defecation and a follow-up X-ray in a week. It happens that a swallowed object gets stuck in the digestive tract. Then gastroscopy is necessary, performed under general anesthesia. This happens in 10-20% of cases. Surgical intervention is needed extremely rarely, it occurs in 1% of cases. Nevertheless, it happens. Therefore, the child must be observed very carefully.

If a child swallows a battery, go to the hospital as soon as possible!

The situation is much more serious if our toddler swallows the battery. When it enters the body, harmful substances will spill out , which can burn and perforate the wall of the digestive tract. You need to act immediately - go to the hospital quickly, the battery should be removed within a few (6 hours) . The same applies to long, large objects with sharp edges and magnets. The latter are dangerous, especially if more than one is swallowed. In such a situation, they may attract or repel each other, which will cause pressure on the wall of the digestive tract. It may happen that a piece of the intestine (its wall) gets caught between the magnets. This is a terribly dangerous situation that may cause the intestines to die and become perforated . Two-color coins are also dangerous. Made of metal alloys, they may cause burns due to acids in the stomach.

What can be done to avoid such situations?