Each year, young children in Canada are at some risk of dying as a result of suffocating or choking. Almost 100 children die from these causes.
Two-thirds of the children who die do so as a result of suffocation that has a mechanical causes, such as small object, or strangulation by ropes or chords.
One-third die as a result of suffocating on food.
Young children are at risk from choking on small, round food such as hotdogs, croutons, candies, nuts, grapes, marshmallows, and popcorn.
Most playground strangulation incidents involve entanglement. The typical scenario occurs because something a child is wearing gets caught on equipment–often on slides or swings.
Clothing, scarves, mittens, jackets strings, and jacket hoods have become entangled in various narrow gaps between equipment components, openings, or holes at the top of slides, or vertical posts, and on hooks, connecting links such as “S” hooks, causing death by strangulation.
Ropes, jump ropes, and leases, either attached to equipment or being worn around a child’s neck, also have been implicated in playground strangulation deaths.
Most choking hazards can be prevented by hazard inspection and correction. Here is a guideline and sample of some choking hazards to look for. I am sure you can add to the list:
- your baby crib is built after 1986, which means the bars are well spaced to prevent strangulation;
- blind and drapery cords are cut and secured with cord wind-up, and are out of reach of children;
- non-food items such as coins, balloons, marbles, and buttons are kept away from young children;
- clothing drawstrings, ribbons, necklaces, neckties, and rope are kept away from young children;
- children remain seated when chewing food;
- plastic bags are kept away from young children; and
- that innocent container of baby powder is out of sight and reach of young children.
Every year in Canada, people die from choking, strangulation, and suffocation because people who witnessed the accident or found an unconscious person did not know what to do.
Quick action and knowing what to do is the vital first link in a chain of survival that can save someone who is choking, stopped breathing, or heart has stopped.
Take CPR, for example. CPR techniques have been around for more than 25 years yet it is estimated only about 10 percent of Canadians know how to do CPR!
Want to save a life such as a friend or someone you love? Then sign up for a first aid/CPR course today!
Fact: If you never need what you learn about personal safety, you have lost nothing. If you never learn what you need, you may lose everything–your family and your life!
