Peanuts and almonds are the most common nuts found in the bronchi. Peanuts create more bronchial inflammation than any other food. Even small fragments of nuts in candy or baked goods can be inhaled by toddlers, who lack molars.
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.
No crunchy peanut butter – or solid nuts or nut fragments – should be given to children until at least 3 years of age.
A small spoonful of chunky peanut butter or a handful of nuts, if inhaled, can be lethal.
Both sunflower seeds and their shells are also choking hazards.
The presence of older siblings in the household increases the risk for choking, possibly because toys and other objects with small parts are more likely to be present and caregiving activities, such as feeding, to be undertaken by older siblings.[Ref:44]
