Illustrative image (Source: thanhnien.vn) HCM City (VNA) - Afive-year-old boy from HCM City’s District 10 died recently from choking onjelly cubes, sold in Vietnam in small plastic containers with a peel-off top.
Dr Dinh Tan Phuong, head of HCM CityPaediatrics Hospital 1’s Emergency Aid Ward, said the boy, after taking off thetop, sucked the jelly cube too strongly.
The cube, made with mixed gelatinand other ingredients, became stuck in the boy’s airway, Phuong said.
After the boy turned blue, hisparents provided first aid but it was ineffective. The boy was then taken tothe hospital, but died later that day.
Phuong said that jelly cubes caneasily get stuck and block a person’s airway. This can lead to death ordisability.
Two years ago, the hospital’s wardadmitted a child who had choked on a jelly cube. The doctors saved the child,but he developed cerebral palsy because he had been deprived of oxygen for along time.
Other hospitals in the country havealso received children who have choked on jelly cubes or other items.
However, there are no officialstatistics on choking accidents involving jelly cubes or other items.
Phuong said that small jelly beansin milk tea can also pose a choking risk.
If victims are not given first aidwithin four minutes, they can suffer a brain injury, he said.
To unblock the stuck item, an adultshould stand behind the child and lean and support the chest with one hand toforce out the item blocking the airway.
Phuong said that parents should becareful in giving food to children. For example, they should take out seeds oflongan and litchi and then cut the fruit into small pieces before giving themto children.
According to the charityorganisation Child Accident Prevention Trust in the UK, choking is one of themain causes of accidental death in children under five years old in the UK.
The US National Safety Council’sInjury Facts 2017 showed that choking was the fourth leading cause of deathfrom unintentional injuries, including in children and people aged 74 and overin the US.-VNA
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