Reply to Why is popcorn a choking hazard?

Forum Index » Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers

Reply to "Why is popcorn a choking hazard?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have the answer :!: :!: :!: :!:  I actually saw a medical program that discussed the risks of popcorn.  The kernels are not the problem.

The problem is that the popped corn itself is so lightweight that it can be easily sucked right into a child's windpipe directly into their lung.  They actually won't even choke that much because the thing goes straight through the airway.

The biggest concern is that this can happen without the child or parents knowing it.  The child now has a piece of popcorn literally sitting in their lung.  After a few days the infection called aspiration pnemonia kicks in and this is a life threatening condition.  If the popcorn isn't surgically removed from the child's lung they will die.  Sadly sometimes it's not discovered until it's too late.  If it is discovered the risks from the infection and lung surgery are still huge and the child still may not survive.

[/quote]

I'm a pediatrician and was about to post this answer! This is it! Popcorn is a huge aspiration risk. I've seen friends feed it to their 10 month olds, their 2 year olds, their 3 year olds and I've seen all ages choke and gag. Obviously, the older the child gets, the easier it is for them to understand they have to chew every bite and how to express that something went down the wrong way.[/quote]

Thank you, pediatrician, for chiming in.  I have worked with children with learning differences for years and one of my most challenging cases was a child who had a brain injury due to lack of oxygen from chocking on a piece of popcorn.  She was 3 at the time.  Parents who have been lucky, that's just what it is luck.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics