Pearls and jelly have a soft, chewy, and highly sticky texture. When lost in the airway, they can obscure and obstruct breathing, causing difficulty breathing.
The Respiratory Department, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi, recently received emergency treatment for a 20-year-old girl who choked on tapioca pearls after drinking milk tea. The patient came to the hospital with a severe cough, difficulty breathing, blue lips, and endoscopy discovered pearl beads in the right bronchus.
Doctor Nguyen Van Ngan, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi, warns that diverse drinks served with a variety of toppings are a favorite choice of many people but can increase the risk of choking on foreign objects in the airways.
Toppings in drinks are often granular, made of powder, and have a sticky texture such as tapioca pearls, jelly, coconut jelly… and are eaten through large straws. Most people have the habit of trying to suck harder, causing the pressure in the straw to increase, pushing the topping upward and into the airway. At that time, it creates a coughing reaction to expel the foreign object, but the sticky texture makes the topping particles difficult to remove.
The above cases of foreign body choking often occur in young children because they do not have much knowledge, have less quick reflexes and are easily distracted when eating. To avoid this risk, Dr. Ngan recommends that when drinking soft drinks with toppings or black bean soup, red beans, lotus seeds, etc., you should eat with a spoon and not a large straw. When eating, children should not play. Children should be supervised by adults when eating. Dividing portions into smaller portions and chewing slowly also helps reduce the risk of choking on foreign objects.
Dr. Ngan noted that choking on foreign objects can cause choking of foreign objects into the nasal passages, but in many cases foreign objects fall into the lower respiratory tract, entering the bronchi and lungs. Some foreign objects do not cause acute reactions such as coughing or cyanosis, so they can be ignored. At this time, people who choke on foreign objects come to the hospital because of symptoms such as wheezing and pneumonia many times, making it difficult to diagnose.
People who have choked on a foreign object need to be given first aid on the spot to expel the foreign object to avoid choking the airway. If asphyxiation persists, it can cause respiratory failure and even death.
The Heimlich maneuver can be used for first aid when adults and children over two years old choke on a foreign object.
In case the victim is still conscious:
- Stand behind the child, wrap your arms around the child’s waist. Clench your hand into a fist and place it in the epigastric area, just below the tip of the sternum, above the navel.
- Hide 5 decisively from front to back and from bottom to top, strong and fast. You can repeat 6-10 abdominal thrusts until the object falls out of the airway or the child cries.
In case the person is in a coma:
- Have the child lie on his back and kneel with his legs next to the victim’s thighs.
- Place the heel of one palm on the epigastric area, under the tip of the sternum, under the tip of the sternum, then place the second hand on top of the first hand.
- Make 5 firm, strong and quick thrusts into the abdomen from bottom to top.
- You can repeat 6-10 abdominal thrusts until the object falls out of the airway.
Children under 2 years old cannot use the Heimlich when providing first aid for a foreign object. At this time, the family needs to pat the child’s back and chest compressions. Place the child on his stomach, head low on the left arm, and hold the head and neck firmly with the left hand. Use the heel of your right hand to give 5 strong pats on the child’s back between the shoulder blades. Then turn the child over to his right hand. If he is still having difficulty breathing or is pale, use two fingers of his left hand to press firmly on the lower half of the sternum 5 times.
If the object has not yet fallen out, turn the child over and continue patting the back. Alternate back patting and chest compressions until the object falls out of the airway or the baby cries.
First aid should be administered quickly. At the same time, you should call an ambulance and move to the nearest medical facility in case the foreign object cannot be expelled despite first aid. The victim should go to a medical facility for a health check even if the foreign object has been removed.