Toddler chokes to death on a piece of grape

BOY WAS BRAIN-DEAD WHEN BROUGHT TO HOSPITAL IN KHOR FAKKAN

Emirati boy was brain-dead when brought to hospital in Khor Fakkan |

A parent can also try and open the child’s mouth to see if there is anything that is visibly choking the child and carefully try and pull it out.”

Dr Ashgan Hassan | Assistant director of medical affairs at Khor Fakkan Hospital

Atwo-year-old Emirati boy died in hospital on Sunday night after efforts to dislodge a piece of grape from the child’s throat failed, medical authorities said.

The Emirati boy, from the Al Walyah area in Khor Fakkan, died in Khor Fakkan Hospital, an official said.

The child was admitted on Sunday night and he was clinically brain-dead by the time he reached the hospital.

Obaid Bin Freish, directorgeneral of Khor Fakkan Hospital, told Gulf News that the boy’s brain was deprived of oxygen due to a blocked airway and he was brain-dead on arrival.

Despite efforts by emergency staff to resuscitate the boy, he could not be revived.

The parents of the infant told hospital staff that they turned their son upside down and started beating his back in an attempt to remove the piece of grape from his mouth.

But it did not work and his face turned blue.

He was hardly breathing when they brought him to the nearest hospital.

Four minutes

Dr Ashgan Hassan, assistant director of medical affairs at Khor Fakkan Hospital, told Gulf News that all parents should take first aid training course to know how to deal with their children in case of any emergency.

She said if the brain is deprived of air for more than four minutes then it will affect the life of a person. She advised parents to keep the hard materials away from their toddlers when they start to walk.

Parents are advised, she said, to cut fruit into small pieces when they give it to their children and keep them under their observation to avoid such tragic accidents.

It is crucial, she said, that parents undergo training so that they do not cause much damage when patting the back or the front of a child to remove food from the airway.

“A parent can also try and open the child’s mouth to see if there is anything that is visibly choking the child and carefully try and pull it out,” she said.

However, parents should not try to place their hands in their child’s mouth if nothing is clearly visible as it could push the object causing the obstruction further down.

“If the baby is unconscious, blue in colour or not breathing, parents who are trained should immediately carry out CPR, and call the emergency services for help,” Dr Hassan said.

Trained paramedics will try to remove the object from the baby’s throat, and provide him/ her with oxygen if needed.

Dr Hassan suggested that first aid training courses should be offered in government departments as well as in schools.