The two-year-old swallowed an almond – and entered a life-threatening situation

What started as a routine Shabbat dinner almost ended in disaster: Two-year-old Noya swallowed a tiny piece of almond, and soon after began suffering from shortness of breath that came and went. Emma Sharon, tellsmako health. “She managed to cry and scream so we thought that meant she was breathing, and that the symptoms had weakened, we didn’t think we needed to go to the hospital and we went to sleep.”

The next morning, Noya started coughing again, and her parents decided to alert the children’s MD at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center. Although initial tests and a chest x-ray did not indicate anything unusual, Dr. Ali Abdiat and Dr. Efrat Blankenstein, doctors specializing in the children’s department, suspected that it was actually a foreign body in the respiratory tract, and decided to leave her for observation – a decision that turned out to be life-saving.

During the night, Noya’s breathing gradually worsened, and she was transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit. The next day, after there was no improvement in her condition, it was decided to perform a bronchoscopy – an invasive examination for the diagnosis and treatment of the respiratory tract.

During the examination, it was discovered that a small foreign body was indeed found between the vocal cords, moving alternately between the upper and lower trachea, which blocked it almost completely – a situation that could lead to a decrease in the oxygen supply and a real danger to life. Using dedicated equipment, the doctors, led by Dr. Leon Joseph, a senior pediatric pulmonologist, together with Dr. Ohad Cohen, a senior physician and head of vocal cord and throat surgery in the otolaryngology department, were able to push the foreign body into an area that does not block breathing and successfully extract it.

“After we extracted the foreign bone, it became clear to us that it was a small piece of tonsil measuring only about five mm,” says Dr. Joseph. “It is admittedly tiny, but in toddlers of this age, when the area of ​​the vocal cords is only about seven millimeters in size, it could be a real life-threatening danger.”

“Unfortunately, although it is strictly forbidden to let children under the age of 5 eat nuts, this is a phenomenon that does not stop,” adds Dr. Joseph. “In Noya’s case, it ended well, but it could have ended completely differently. It is also important to be careful with sausages, cherry tomatoes and grapes. These foods must be cut lengthwise and crosswise to maintain safe eating.”

Sharon admits that she did not believe that such a small piece could lead to such a dangerous situation. “I knew that children my daughter’s age were not allowed to eat almonds, but I did not think that such a small piece would lead to such an extreme and life-threatening situation,” she says. “I call on all parents – do not give small children nuts, and as soon as there are symptoms of suffocation, immediately call the rescuers and go to the hospital.”