Airway Obstruction

If your child is struggling to breathe, turning blue, or has a battery stuck in their ear, nose, or throat, seek emergency medical care right away.

Airway obstruction, also known as foreign body airway obstruction, happens when a small item gets stuck in a child’s throat or upper airway and makes it hard for the child to breathe. Because of its small size, a child’s airway can get blocked when a piece of food or a small, round object like a coin or marble gets lodged in their throat. Other common household items like drapery cords or plastic bags can strangle or suffocate a child.

On average, 5,000 children, ages 14 and under, are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year for airway obstruction. The majority of these children are ages 4 and under.

More than 650 children die in a given year from choking, strangulation, suffocation, or getting trapped in a household appliance or toy chest.

Cut food into small pieces

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children younger than 4 should not be fed any round, firm food unless the food is cut into small, non-round pieces. Young children may not chew food properly, swallow food whole, and start choking. Foods to avoid or cut into small pieces for children under age 4 include:

• hot dogs whole or sliced into circles
• meat chunks
• whole grapes
• popcorn
• peanuts and other whole nuts
• pumpkin seeds and other seeds
• raisins
• raw carrots

Children younger than 4 should not be given hard candy or chewing gum.

Young children can eat hot dogs and grapes, as long as the skins are taken off and the food is cut into small, non-round pieces.

Supervise your child's eating

Always keep your eye on young children while they are eating. Sometimes, choking can occur when an older child feeds a younger sibling unsafe food. Ensure that your young children sit upright while eating, and never allow them to walk, play, or run with food in their mouths.

Keep choking hazards out of reach

Nonfood items that are small, round, or conforming can be a choking hazard to your young child. You may want to purchase a small parts tester to help determine which items are choking hazards. Make sure your child plays with age-appropriate toys, keeping small items that are a choking hazard out of reach. Check under your furniture and between seat cushions for choking hazards such as:

• coins
• small balls
• balloons (inflated and deflated)
• marbles
• small game parts
• small toy parts
• safety pins
• jewelry
• buttons
• pen caps
• round coin-like batteries (like for a watch)

Remove strangulation and suffocation hazards

Children can strangle themselves with consumer products that wrap around the neck, such as window blind and drapery cords, ribbons, necklaces, pacifier strings, and drawstrings on clothing. A few tips to keep in mind to keep your child safe:

• Tie up or cut all window blind and drapery cords, and remove any hood and neck drawstrings from your children's outerwear.
• Do not allow your child to wear necklaces, purses, scarves, or clothing with drawstrings on playground equipment.
• Do not allow your child to play on beanbag chairs that contain small foam pellets — if the bean bag chair rips, your child can inhale and choke on the pellets.
• Do not allow your young child to play with shooting toys. An arrow, dart, or pellet can be a choking hazard if shot into a child's mouth.
• Make sure the spacing between bed guardrails, frames, and all spaces in the head- and foot-boards do not exceed 3.5 inches. Small passages through which a child's body, but not the head, fit can strangle a child. This includes spaces in bunk beds, cribs, playground equipment, baby strollers, carriages, and high chairs.

Remove suffocation hazards

Infants can suffocate in soft bedding, or when a person rolls over onto them in an adult bed. Here are a few other tips to help prevent suffocation:

• Discard plastic bags and plastic wrapping that could cover the nose and mouth and suffocate a small child.
• Remove the doors of unused household appliances and lids from toy chests so that children can not become trapped and suffocate inside.
• Do not let children under age 6 sleep on the top bunk of a bunk bed as they could strangle or suffocate themselves if they fall.

Place sleeping infants on their backs

The medical community recommends placing infants on their backs in their cribs to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Placing infants on their backs may also reduce the chance of choking. Infants may have a difficult time lifting their heads if they are face down. The crib should adhere to national safety standards, with a firm, flat mattress. Avoid putting soft bedding, toys, and other soft products, pillows, and comforters in the crib with your infant.