Did You Know?!
In the European Union each year, an estimated 2,000 children (14 years or younger) choke on a toy.[Ref:34]
Peanut Fragments in Bronchus
Extraction Case
Peanuts create more bronchial inflammation than any other food. Even small nut fragments can be inhaled past the vocal cords.
As Dr. Chevalier Jackson stated (over 100 years ago), after a nut enters a toddler’s mouth, one of three things can happen: the nut can be spat out, it can swallowed whole, or it can be inhaled into a bronchus. Toddlers can not grind a nut (or even a nut fragment) to a paste, to allow safe swallowing.
For the prevention of peanut allergies, ONLY thinned, smooth peanut butter (or puffs or thin puree) should be given to infants.
Peanut Allergies Related Links:
No crunchy peanut butter – or solid nuts or nut fragments – should be given to children until at least 3 years of age.
When a piece of a nut (or another organic or plastic foreign body) partially blocks a bronchus, a plain (Inspiratory) chest Xray usually looks normal.
Please see A Problem with Xrays for more information.
Extraction Video
Optical "Peanut" forceps were designed specifically for the removal of bronchial peanuts. Even with gentle technique, bronchial nuts fragment easily. A more recently designed forceps is shown in the "Bronchial Crayon" extraction case.
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