Every year it’s estimated that around 12,000 children in the United States will visit an ER for injuries from choking or swallowing something they shouldn’t have. Many of these hazards can come directly from toys and electronics that kids play with. Stephen Nanton, MD with Avera Pediatric Gastroenterology, takes a closer look at some of these common choking hazards and provides insight on what parents should be aware of when it comes to your kid's toys and trinkets.
Why is it important to inspect toys for swallowing risks?
“Childproofing in the home is essential. There are a number of objects that are on the dangerous list. Button batteries are one, magnets are another one, and sharp or larger objects. So what I would recommend is that parents get down to the eye level of the child and sweep the room, scout around and look for any coins or any toys that have these button batteries and they should be removed out of the reach of the child and do this often,” said Dr. Nanton.
What are the added risks of toys with electronics and batteries?
“Toys with button batteries should be carefully screened and kept out of the reach of young children. This is one of the most dangerous objects that kids can swallow. It can erode through the wall of the esophagus and then into the major blood vessels like the aorta and in those cases, the chance of survival is very low,” said Dr. Nanton.
What about toys with strong magnets?
“I think toys that have strong magnets, they’re called neodymium magnets or rare earth magnets, should be avoided completely for younger kids because these can be very dangerous! If these magnets are ingested they can trap bowel (tissue) in between these magnets. You see, they're quite powerful. So bowel can be trapped in between and cause perforation or holes in the bowel wall and lead to septicemia where the patient can, in fact, be very, very ill from this,” said Dr. Nanton.
Sensory play like sand and water beads are becoming more popular, but what should parents know?
“These are the toys that are super absorbent and can enlarge once you swallow those and they should be avoided in young children. They are super absorbent, so they absorb a lot of fluid and then can expand up to 50 times their original size and so you can imagine those are not going to be easily removed,” said Dr. Nanton.
What other advice do you have for parents to help avoid a trip to the pediatric gastroenterologist?
“It's important for parents to have the conversation with older kids also, and remind them not to do internet challenges to swallow these foreign objects or even swallow household chemicals because these can be very, very dangerous,” said Dr. Nanton.
Toy parts can play a larger risk for causing severe damage inside the body, but for younger children things like bubble gum and certain candies can also pose a significant choking risk that parents should be equally cautious about.
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