UAE doctors share tips to protect children from choking hazards as cases rise

UAE doctors share tips to protect children from choking hazards as cases rise

Toddlers face the highest risk of getting food stuck in their throats, say experts

Published: Mon 25 Apr 2022, 11:57 AM Last updated: Mon 25 Apr 2022, 12:02 PM

Choking is common among toddlers and is usually caused by food, toys and other small objects that get stuck in a child's windpipe.

A UAE hospital recently reported an increase in cases of children swallowing chemicals and small electronic objects. Emirates Health Services (EHS) said Al Qassimi Women's and Children's Hospital admitted more than 50 children in one year, some of whom sustained severe damage to their digestive systems.

The hospital said the most common objects swallowed by children are batteries, magnets, nails and chicken bones, which experts have warned can cause serious harm.

With choking cases on the rise, UAE doctors are urging parents to take extra care to ensure their children don't accidentally swallow foreign objects.

Dr Anas Abdalla Alshorman, neonatologist specialist at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC) in partnership with Mayo Clinic, says unintentional injury is the leading causing of death in children.

“Death caused by suffocation following foreign body aspiration is the fifth most common cause of unintentional-injury mortality in the United States and the leading cause of unintentional-injury mortality in children younger than