Specialists of the Endoscopy Section of the Chisinau-based Mother and Child Institute possess an unusual collection of small things that were swallowed or inhaled by little children and that were extracted from the esophagus and reparatory system. Among these are batteries, pins, hairpins, coins, toy parts and other objects that seem impossible to be swallowed, IPN reports.
In a training seminar for journalists staged within the national communication campaign “A danger-free home for your child!” of the REPEMOL project, doctor in the Endoscopy Section Victor Rascov said the small objects are swallowed by kids mainly when playing, out of curiosity. But these can also be inhaled when the child is running or eating. If the children are made to laugh when eating, they can inhale crumbles.
Besides coins, buttons and detachable small parts, the small batteries or magnetized objects are also very dangerous if they are in ingested. The doctor explained that it is very hard to extract these things. When the batteries get into the body, they start to eliminate an alkaline substance that is very dangerous and can cause perforation. The magnetized objects can stick to each other with tissue between them. Surgery is often needed in such cases.
There are many cases when the sunflower seeds, walnut kernel or pumpkin seeds get stuck in the esophagus of the child or in the reparatory system. “The children younger than three must not be given seeds or nuts to eat as they don’t know how to eat these. All the small objects must be hidden so that they are not within the children’s reach,” said Victor Rascov.
The parents are warned to be cautious and not to leave small items near children. Even after surgery to remove foreign bodies and long treatment periods, some children do not recover fully. According to the specialist, keeping the toys and other objects with small detachable parts away from kids and supervising the children are the main methods by which such case can be prevented.
More information about how to protect the child is available on www.parinti.md and can be also found out by following the information campaigns centering on the prevention of accidents involving children carried out within the REPEMOL (Regionalization of Pediatric Emergency and Intensive Care Service in Moldova) Project that is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and implemented by the Foundation of the Center for Health Policies and Services.
