Throw Me Something Mister- I'll Try Not To Swallow It!

This week's guest columnist is Dr. Libby Going, a Family Medicine resident at the University Health Center here in Lafayette. Mardi Gras is here!  That means celebrating with floats and parades, king cakes.....and beads.  Edible treats quickly come to mind when we thing about Carnival season, but occasionally kids try things that are not edible. Part of baby development is learning about objects by putting them into the mouth.  The mouth is one of the most sensitive parts for babies, so they use it to explore their world as much as they can.  This means every parent has had to grab something inedible out of baby's hand or mouth.  "Don't eat that!" or "That's not food!" are common phrases for parents with small children. Many iconic Mardi Gras items have great appeal to a baby or toddler who already wants to put things in his mouth.  Sparkly, smooth, multi-colored beads, small plastic babies (looks just like me!) hidden in king cakes, and shiny gold doubloons- what more could a little one want?!? So how do we keep this natural behavior for kids from becoming a 911 call or Emergency Department visit?  First, many bakeries now help out by not putting the baby into the king cake before purchase.  Parents can decide to place the inedible object into the cake or not.  Please decide not!  Let's face it- toddlers will at the very least lick it, and maybe eat it. An idea for the older child who "just has to have the baby" is to put the baby on top of her piece and then take it back soon after. Coins (or gold doubloons at this time of year) and button batteries are also favorites for trying in the mouth.  Thus you must be vigilant about not letting those in baby's reach. Beads are also a serious choking hazard, so don't be careless about leaving those around either.  But babies will be babies and sometimes just get ahold of these things, so it is important for parents to take a CPR class.  There you can learn the Heimlich maneuver, which works great for choking and can be life saving. Even when Mardi Gras is over, kids will still put interesting things in their mouths and maybe swallow them.  If they do swallow something, and maybe gag and choke, this is one of the worst experiences in parenting!  This fear brings a lot of kids and their folks into the Emergency Department, even when the kid looks fine and swallowed something seemingly innocent. When a child has swallowed what we call a "foreign body," he may have increased fussiness, only want to drink liquids, vomit, complain of throat or chest or abdominal pain, or have a different sounding cough or gagging noise.  With any of these signs, your child needs to be evaluated.  Button or disc batteries are particularly dangerous because even if your child seems fine after they swallow one, batteries can cause serious internal burns. We often use xrays to show the culprit and where in the body it is.  Even if the parent doesn't know exactly what was swallowed, the object's shape on xray can tell us what it is. Most foreign bodies pass harmlessly through the gastrointestinal tract and appear at the opposite end.  Sometimes a couple of xrays can be used to monitor the journey of that very interesting object.  However, some objects may require removal, usually by endoscopy.  This is a flexible fiberoptic tube with tiny tools and a light at the end, through which the doctor can see the thing and grab and retrieve it.  Some things that need to be removed include batteries and objects that are stuck and not moving through. One important note to remember is never give your child something to drink or a snack once you decide to bring him in.  Children need to have empty stomachs for surgery, to have anesthesia safely.  Also, trying to feed a child with a blocked esophagus can cause vomiting and further choking hazards. Mardi Gras can be a great time for the whole family, toddlers included, but some precautions must be taken to ensure that the fun does not end in the Emergency Department.  Laissez les bon temps rouler!