What should I do if my baby chokes on medicine? How can I feed the medicine without choking the baby?

Babies will inevitably get sick when they are very young. Parents of sick babies will feed them medicine. Many babies will not cooperate in the process of feeding medicine. So how to deal with babies who refuse to take medicine, and what to do if the baby chokes when feeding medicine? Please see the detailed introduction below.

What to do if the baby chokes on medicine

If the baby chokes on medicine, he should be placed prone on the adult's lap or on the bed, and his back should be patted hard to make him cough. If the baby vomits due to coughing, the baby's face should be quickly turned to one side to prevent the vomit from flowing back into the throat and trachea. Then wrap a handkerchief around your fingers and insert it into the mouth, even the throat, to quickly clean out the vomited, spilled milk and food to protect the smooth respiratory tract, and then use a small cotton swab to clean the nostrils to avoid respiratory obstruction.

How to feed medicine without choking the baby

Feeding medication using a dropper

The biggest feature of the dropper medicine feeder is that it uses a straw design, which can well control the amount of medicine sucked, and the baby will not be choked by the medicine liquid. Parents should be careful not to put it too deep into the baby's mouth when using this medicine feeder. If the dropper medicine feeder is used too quickly, it is easy to choke the baby, so it must be used slowly. First, use a measuring cylinder to measure the volume of the medicine liquid, then put it into the tube, gently put the medicine feeding part into the baby's mouth, and use the push handle to squeeze or press the medicine liquid into the baby's mouth. This process should not be too fast.

1. Prepare the medicine for your baby, read the instructions carefully, and check the dosage.

2. The person giving the medicine needs to wash their hands carefully with hand sanitizer.

3. Clean the auxiliary tools needed for feeding medicine and place them next to the medicine.

4. Prepare some boiled water and your baby’s favorite snacks such as biscuits or candies.

What to do if you choke on medicine

Currently, common infant medicines are mainly divided into liquid medicines and tablets. Liquid medicines are relatively simple to feed. The child can lie half-lying or be held in the arms of the parents with the child's head slightly tilted to one side. Liang Guoxiang suggested that parents can use a dropper or syringe-type medicine feeder to complete the operation, which is simple to operate and less likely to cause accidents. If there is no medicine feeder, the dissolved medicine can also be stirred with a small spoon. The parent gently pinches the child's cheeks with one hand, and puts the small spoon in the child's mouth with the other hand, pressing the lower teeth tightly so that the medicine liquid flows slowly into the mouth along the corners of the mouth. The small spoon always presses the lower teeth until all the medicine is swallowed. Then take out the spoon, pour a little sugar water, mix it with the remaining medicine in the spoon, and feed it again.

When feeding tablets, parents need to be especially careful not to give pills or tablets directly to their babies. They should be ground into powder and diluted with water and sugar before letting their babies swallow. Children who are too young not only have thin throats and poor swallowing ability, but more importantly, they are difficult to cooperate with their parents, and it is easy for them to choke on the pills in the trachea.

First aid for children who choke on medicine

Liang Guoxiang reminded that if a baby chokes on medicine, in addition to rushing to the hospital, parents can take some first aid measures themselves:

1. Encourage coughing. Foreign objects that cause choking are mostly stuck in the throat, especially foreign objects like thin films and jelly. Usually only part of them are sucked into the laryngeal cavity, and part of them are outside the glottis. At this time, encourage the baby to cough loudly, which sometimes can cough out the foreign object.

2. Pat the baby's back while leaning forward. If it is suspected that a foreign object has been inhaled into the baby's airway, the baby's upper body should be tilted forward 60 degrees, with the baby lying prone on the rescuer's elbow, with the head hanging down. The rescuer should pat the baby's back vigorously with his hands, using gravity to help expel the foreign object.

3. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. If the foreign body is removed and the obstruction is relieved, but the baby's breathing and heartbeat have stopped, artificial respiration and chest compression should be performed immediately.