How To Prevent Kids From Choking on Hotdogs

Hot dog, one of the quickest and tastiest meals to make anywhere in the world. Kids love it, likewise adults. You can mix up your hot dog toppings and add anything to it such as cheese, relish, mayonnaise, beef, bacon, vegetables, you name it. But as great as hot dogs are, they are one of the greatest choking hazards in kids. Many people are surprised at this because they simply don't understand how you can choke on a hot dog. Well, if you can choke on a tiny nut, you can certainly choke on a hot-dog

Why Kids Choke on Hot Dog

1. Kid’s throat too small
A child's throat may not be as large as that of an adult and hence choking is greater in kids than adults. There are many children who have choked on peanuts, so choking on a piece of hot dog is quite possible.
2. Hot dogs too large
Hot dog sausages come in various sizes in terms of length and width. Hot dogs come with width of one inches to a whopping two inch width. That is a whole lot of sausage to fit in any kid's mouth. Especially kids under the age of ten years old. Just think about it for a while, a large man with a pretty big mouth will have to do a little jaw dropping and chomping to eat one of those thick hot dogs. Can you imagine a kid taking on this monster meal? A child will try to chomp down on this large hot dog and large chunks may just end up down the kid's throat which may lead to choking.

How To Prevent Kids Choking on Hot dog

1. Buy smaller dogs
Instead of buying those large size sausages to make a hot dog your child has to dislocate his or her jaw to eat. Get sausages with thinner circumferences. When the sausages are thinner, a couple chews from the kid's teeth will chop it down quickly to less choke sizes.

2. Have the dog cut in slices
You can prevent your child choking on hot dog by getting the sausage split in the middle from end to end. This can ensure that the sausages are bitten off in much smaller pieces hence reducing the chances of choking.

3. Don't let you child talk or play while having hot dog
This should be a rule for all foods. Talking or playing while eating can cause your food to easily fly down your throat without being properly chewed. Ensure that your child is at rest when consuming foods which can cause choking such as hot dogs.

What To Do if Your Child is Choking on Hotdog

They say prevention is better than cure. But prevention is not always full proof and you need to know quick lifesaving methods to apply if your child is choking on a piece of hot dog. You should note well that if you child is coughing, allow the child to cough as this is a natural reaction to choking and coughing can dislodge objects stuck in the throat.

• Step1.

Try as hard as you can to not panic as this will push even more fear into the mind of the choking child and fear can never be useful in any situation.

• Step 2.

Try to dislodge the object with back blows. Use your hand palm to slap in between both shoulders to try and remove the blockage. If Back blows do not work. Move to Step 3.

• Step 3.

Proceed to do some amount of abdominal thrust. Hold the child from the back with your hands locked around his/her abdominal and do quick pull ins and then out. This will cause a rush of air to go up the block passage which can help to dislodge the blockage.
Remember, at this time the paramedics should have already been on their way. Once the piece of hot dog has been removed from the child's throat, ensure that the child is able to fully breathe naturally. Give the child a cup of room temperature water to help soothe the throat.

Conclusion

Remember, Choking is a deadly reaction. Kids are more prone to choking by putting objects in their mouth or simply enjoying a regular hot dog and biting off more than what they can chew (literally). Use the prevention steps above to lessen your child's chances of choking on a hot dog.