Our nanny choked at our house today.

[Anonymous]

WOW - your post did not go the way I thought it would. You do not seem the LEAST bit concerned about your nanny who almost died. WTF?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can you prevent it again? By not having grapes, popcorn, or hot dogs - the main foods people choke on - in your house.

Anyone can choke. Your kids were fine in the high chair. YOU could have choked on a grape while home alone with your kids - would you fire yourself from being a parent? Of course not. Shit happens. She doesn't need to go to the ER - even if your husband broke a rib, there's nothing that can be done for it.

+1. Grapes are notorious for for choking as is popcorn (our pediatrician wouldn’t let our kids have it all until age 4); hot dogs and solid potatoes and chucks of chicken.

Your pediatrician wouldn’t let you???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can you prevent it again? By not having grapes, popcorn, or hot dogs - the main foods people choke on - in your house.

Anyone can choke. Your kids were fine in the high chair. YOU could have choked on a grape while home alone with your kids - would you fire yourself from being a parent? Of course not. Shit happens. She doesn't need to go to the ER - even if your husband broke a rib, there's nothing that can be done for it.

+1. Grapes are notorious for for choking as is popcorn (our pediatrician wouldn’t let our kids have it all until age 4); hot dogs and solid potatoes and chucks of chicken.

Your pediatrician rules your house? Common sense tells you that round food is a choking hazard which is why you cut grapes, bananas, hot dogs, etc., into bite-size, non round shapes. My pediatrician didn't need to tell me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our nanny (mid-20s) choked while having lunch with our toddler twins today. We usually work outside the home but thank god my husband had a migraine today and called in or today could have gone very differently.

She was eating a grape when she started choking. The same grapes she served our toddlers but instead of being cut into fours she ate one whole and choked. We just watched the security camera facing the kitchen and you can literally see the panic set in and she grasps her hands around her neck and stands up trying to cough. She tried to perform the Heimlich on herself with our chair but failed. That’s when she walks out of frame of the camera.

She walked upstairs into our bedroom and banged on the door where my husband said he opened the door to her purple faced and about to pass out. Thankfully we trained for this before we had kids, but never did he expect to perform the Heimlich on an adult. Let alone our nanny. It came out fairly quickly he said and she was ok. Crying but ok. He rushed downstairs where she had left our twins (14 months old) in the high chair where they were eating like nothing happened.

We let her go home early and said maybe she should go to urgent care. Not sure if she did.

I’m glad everything is ok but honestly it makes me scared to have her back here tomorrow. What if DH wasn’t here? What would have happened to my kids? What if they choker? Fell? How can we prevent this again?

Glad your nanny is okay!
You sound awfully selfish; people can choke anywhere eating anything. Things happen. I hope your nanny sees through your true colors.

[Anonymous]

Soft foods actually are a pretty common choking hazard (I almost choked on Frosted Flakes once), so you might want to ban her from eating those as well.

[Anonymous]

I choked yesterday. It was scary. Give her some days off

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least your nanny choked on a grape. My ex nanny choked on …. WATER. Fortunately I was there to help her.

I remember hearing just how deadly choking on water can be especially for the elderly. I’m guessing because there isn’t anything to actually dislodge?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

+1. Grapes are notorious for for choking as is popcorn (our pediatrician wouldn’t let our kids have it all until age 4); hot dogs and solid potatoes and chucks of chicken.

Your pediatrician does not get to dictate how your raise your children. They can advise, but this wording is concerning.

[Anonymous]

I'm so glad your husband was there! What a blessing to save someone's life!

I'm sure you all are in a type of shock. It was a scary, harrowing thing. It was also just one of those "near misses" that happen sometimes. If you are still feeling shaken after the initial shock has worn off, then see a therapist. It's totally normal for this to have thrown you, but you don't want to overreact or overcompensate, and you especially don't want to make things even more difficult for your nanny, who has had the most trauma of all of you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least your nanny choked on a grape. My ex nanny choked on …. WATER. Fortunately I was there to help her.

I remember hearing just how deadly choking on water can be especially for the elderly. I’m guessing because there isn’t anything to actually dislodge?

You can't choke on liquids. You can aspirate it into the lungs which can lead to aspiration pneumonia, so that's why the elderly and infirm are sometimes given thickened liquids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least your nanny choked on a grape. My ex nanny choked on …. WATER. Fortunately I was there to help her.

I remember hearing just how deadly choking on water can be especially for the elderly. I’m guessing because there isn’t anything to actually dislodge?

You can't choke on liquids. You can aspirate it into the lungs which can lead to aspiration pneumonia, so that's why the elderly and infirm are sometimes given thickened liquids.

I don’t know what was happening to my ex nanny. She was drinking water, then suddenly she started gasping and couldn’t breath. I did the heimlech and then she recovered. So if it wasn’t choking what was it?

[Anonymous]

Our nanny was older and I often left my kids with my elderly parents. When my kids were as young as 3, I taught them to dial 911–if mommy, or grandma or nanny fall down and don’t get up, or are asleep and don’t wake up, call 911. I’m not sure they would have done it, but we drilled on it. I meet kids who are 6 and don’t know what 911 is—that’s scary! Stuff happens!

[Anonymous]

Buy a set of Dechokers. I think they’re better than lifevac.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least your nanny choked on a grape. My ex nanny choked on …. WATER. Fortunately I was there to help her.

I remember hearing just how deadly choking on water can be especially for the elderly. I’m guessing because there isn’t anything to actually dislodge?

You can't choke on liquids. You can aspirate it into the lungs which can lead to aspiration pneumonia, so that's why the elderly and infirm are sometimes given thickened liquids.

I don’t know what was happening to my ex nanny. She was drinking water, then suddenly she started gasping and couldn’t breath. I did the heimlech and then she recovered. So if it wasn’t choking what was it?

Idk but not choking. When choking by definition you can’t gasp and it’s basically silent. Water probably just went down the wrong pipe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I were your nanny I’d quit. You obviously don’t give two shits about her. I can’t believe you started this thread.

Plus one. I can’t believe I read that either. People, you can’t prevent everything.