North East mum relives daughter's hospital ordeal after choking on grape
NHS Grampian have published a new study, as well as fresh advice
Last updated 11th Jan 2018
A North East mum's been in touch with Northsound to tell her story about the time her little girl was hospitalised after eating grapes.
She's backing the latest research from health experts encouraging parents to pre-prepare food.
Doctors in Aberdeen are offering advice to parents about small children choking on food.
The Aberdeenshire woman, who didn't want to be named, said: "My daughter, who was 4 at the time, had eaten a grapes unbeknown to me and started being sick on a Thursday afternoon.
"She couldn’t keep anything down and was being sick with both food and drinks, this continued the next day and on Saturday we took her to A&E as she had started to ‘close down’ her skin had become mottled and she was very cold.
"They immediately installed a drip and she was kept in hospital as the x-ray dept was not open over the weekend.
"She had the grape surgically removed and recovered from her ordeal after another night in hospital to re-hydrate her.
"We had an extremely worrying weekend, not knowing what was wrong and what had caused it.
"The lasting effect is that I slice all grapes and cherry tomatoes even now, and she is 25."
Dr Jamie Cooper, an Emergency Department Consultant in Aberdeen, said there had been numerous incidents of children under 5 choking on these foods, both in Grampian and across the UK, sometimes with fatal consequences.
He said: “There is widespread awareness of the choking hazard of small toys, but it is less well known that food causes more than half of the fatal choking incidents in children under 5.
“Small, round food, like grapes and cherry tomatoes for example, have a smooth surface that can form a tight seal of the throat which is difficult to dislodge - even with proper first aid.
“Younger children have narrower throats and airways and their teeth aren’t completely formed yet which means they have a reduced ability to chew properly.
“Couple that with a tendency to be easily distracted while eating, and it can be a lethal combination.
“It’s not just young children that need to be careful - older people, or those with impaired chewing, are also at risk.”
Dr Cooper is urging parents to ensure young children are always supervised when eating.
“Tragically there have been a number of incidents in the past where children have died as a result of choking on these types of foods so it is vital that young children aren’t left unsupervised when eating.
If a child does begin to choke, every moment counts so act fast and dial 999 immediately. If the care giver is aware of first aid manoeuvres they also should be attempted urgently.