Home Choking Hazards Abound

In New York City this week, a 5-year-old girl choked to death on a piece of candy.

The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay says the incident highlights the importance of knowing what might pose a choking hazard in your home. She also has advice on what to do if someone is choking.

Choking occurs when food or small objects get caught in the throat or block the airway, preventing oxygen from traveling to the lungs and the brain. After more than four minutes without oxygen, brain damage or even death can occur.

About 3,000 people choke to death in the U.S. each year, Senay points out, and some 200 of them are 14 or under. What's more, 17,500 choking-related events occur, and these people visit the emergency room. "This is a really scary thing," Senay observes. "It's much more common than I think people realize."

What should you do if a child has something obstructing his or her airway?

"If they can talk," Senay explains, "you want to observe them. If they can't speak, if they're putting their hands to their neck, if they're turning blue, obviously, you need to act and you need to act quickly with the Heimlich Maneuver."

Senay used a doll to demonstrate how to do it: "Get firmly behind the child. Place your fist just above the belly button, but well below the rib cage, in between the two (and your other hand over your fist to give force to the fist's motions). The movement is in and up. Use the remaining air in the lung to propel the object out. It can take more than one (thrust), but once it's out, you want to place the victim down if they become responsive again. If they remain or become unresponsive, lay them down, begin CPR and call 911. But the Heimlich Maneuver is a very important thing that everybody should know and learn.

"Obviously, we recommend that parents learn CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver."

For details on where you can get trained in your area, click here (the American Red Cross). For additional information, click here (the American Heart Association).

Senay pointed out that children should be given pieces of food that are smaller than half-an-inch.

Common foods that can cause choking include hot dogs, whole grapes, hard candy, popcorn, peanut butter, raw carrots and celery.

"But a lot of kids are choking on items that are not foods," Senay adds, "and you always want to make a sweep of the floor when you have infants or children around to make sure there's nothing on the floor that crawling babies can pick up."