I have been in the gastroscope room of the Children’s Hospital for more than a year. The most foreign bodies taken out of children’s esophagus and stomach are coins, as well as strange objects such as batteries, hairpins, buttons, rings, pen caps, zipper heads, etc., as well as duck bones and melon seeds that accidentally stuck in the throat while eating.
Some foreign bodies are swallowed or stuck, which may not have much influence for a while, but some foreign bodies are not so gentle.
Which of the foreign bodies are high-risk items?
1. Battery: The most common battery taken by mistake is button cell. Man is a conductor. When button cell is stuck in the esophagus, it will discharge and form an electric current. This electric current lasts for 1 hour, causing mucosal necrosis, ulcer can occur in 2 hours, and perforation can be caused in 8 hours. If the baby is suspected to have swallowed the battery, parents should take the baby to the hospital for examination as soon as possible, and take it out as soon as possible after confirmation, so that the baby will suffer less.
2. Magnet: Whether it is a magnet or a magnetic bead, especially when multiple magnets or magnets and iron foreign bodies are swallowed together, it may cause magnets in different parts of the intestinal tract to attract each other, resulting in compression necrosis and perforation of the intestinal wall.
3. Sharp foreign bodies: such as needles, nails, fish bones, etc., are easy to stick on the esophageal mucosa to cause esophageal perforation. Even if they pass through the esophagus smoothly, they are also easy to cause damage, hemorrhage and infection of esophageal, gastric and intestinal mucosa.
What kind of performance will the baby have after swallowing the foreign body?
Not all babies will have special performance when swallowing foreign bodies, especially when they have just swallowed them and are not stuck in their throat or esophagus.
Therefore, as long as it is suspected that the baby has swallowed something that cannot be eaten, such as the hairpin that was originally in his hand and could not be found, or the old battery that was replaced is inexplicably missing, it is recommended to go to the hospital in time for treatment and filming to rule out the possibility of swallowing foreign bodies.
If the foreign body is stuck in the throat or esophagus, the baby will have some symptoms, such as crying, unwillingness to eat, nausea and vomiting, massive drooling, etc. Severe esophageal foreign body may lead to ulcer, perforation, cough, hemoptysis, dyspnea and even asphyxia when affecting the airway.
If some foreign bodies directly enter the airway, they will suddenly suffer from cough, shortness of breath and other symptoms, and even suffocation in serious cases.
Other foreign bodies will not show abnormalities immediately after swallowing, just like the news mentioned before that the little girl who swallowed the magnetic beads had fever, abdominal pain and vomiting, and only found that she swallowed the magnetic beads when she was undergoing appendicitis surgery.
What should I do if I find my baby swallowing a foreign body?
Generally speaking, it is recommended to seek medical treatment if the baby is suspected or confirmed to have swallowed a foreign body.
If there are similar items in the home, it is best to take them to the doctor to see them together to help the doctor evaluate and judge the next step.
Doctors will ask about medical history, such as [foreign body swallowed during what], [what kind of foreign body swallowed], [whether the child has what symptoms], and then look at the location of the foreign body through filming, and finally decide whether to continue observation or immediately remove it through endoscopy or surgery.
About 80% ~ 90% of foreign bodies can be removed by themselves, 10% ~ 20% of foreign bodies need to be removed by endoscope, and about 1% need to be removed by surgery.
If the doctor judges that it is necessary to take out the foreign body immediately, the foreign body under the fiberoptic laryngoscope or gastroscope should be taken out according to the doctor’s advice.
If the doctor judges that some foreign bodies that have entered the stomach or intestinal tract may be excreted, they need to observe the children’s stool every day after returning home, and they can eat more fruits and vegetables rich in food fiber to promote defecation. Generally, it can be excreted on their own for less than 3 to 5 days and more than 3 to 4 weeks.
If it cannot be discharged by itself, it is necessary to take regular films to see if the foreign body has reached the what. The review time should be based on the nature of the foreign body. For example, coins can be reviewed once a week. However, if it is button cell, it needs to be reviewed if it is not discharged for 4 days.
In addition, parents should also pay attention to whether their children will suffer from abdominal pain, vomiting, abdominal distension, hematochezia and other symptoms that may be caused by foreign body obstruction or perforation during observation. Once these symptoms occur, they also need to see a doctor in time.
Parents should not do these four things.
If the foreign body in the throat cannot be clearly seen, it cannot be blindly pulled out with fingers to avoid nausea reflex and throat injury and edema.
Vomiting is not recommended. Sharp foreign bodies may cause secondary damage to esophagus and risk vomiting and aspiration.
Generally, catharsis is not recommended. As long as the child can defecate normally, it can be solved. In order to expel foreign bodies, it is not worth it to cause diarrhea, intestinal spasm and intestinal dysfunction in children.
Other parents will drink vinegar when their children get stuck in bones, or swallow it with a big mouthful of steamed bread, which is also wrong. Drinking vinegar cannot effectively soften bones. The stuck foreign body will also easily damage esophageal mucosa if it is swallowed with steamed bread.
To sum up, once the baby swallows something that is not for eating, in either case, it is recommended to seek help from a doctor directly.