Swallowing issues after 6 year old choked

[Hobbies22]

Hoping to get some insights and advice

6 year old previously an excellent eater, had an icident where she choked on some pasta. I wasn’t in at the time but husband said it was fairly distressing and had to do the Heimlich manoeuvre to dislodge the pasta.

A delayed reaction followed after been ok for a week or two, and we have fallen into the routine of taking a very long time to chew, using water to support swallowing and frequently having to spit food out that she feels are too big or she can’t swallow.
Child is doing a lot of open mouth chewing, chewing for ages and struggling to swallow once she is in that cycle and it’s exhausting for her .
She is very aware of this , and has gone from a happy sociable chatterbox at the table to being quiet and very concentrated on the food and it’s sad to see as she loves food . Equally from a balanced diet perspective I’m sure that’s also being impacted

I am really concerned that if I don’t handle this correctly , supportively and get extra help if needed this could lead to issues with food or let her do this in her own time and hopeful she will move past this.

Hoping to get some advice/ real life experiences shared if possible .
Thanks

Many thanks

Did she go to the hospital after your husband done the Heimlich manoeuvre on her?

I think the first thing to do - if you haven’t done this already - is have her checked out medically. Her oesophagus is probably really bruised but you need to ensure nothing is still stuck or damaged as that may be still causing issues. Failing this I think it’s probably a trauma response; I would just give her plenty of soft and easy to swallow foods and encourage her to eat as little or much as she likes. If it continues then I’d ask for further help via the Gp.

Is your DH trained to do the Heimlich? Did you go to hospital afterwards. Strongly recommend you call 111 to get advice. Improper technique can damage internal organs.

You should always get checked out after that.

Did he try black slaps first and still the food was stuck?
Was it a proper choke, airway closed, no noise, nothing?

Ring 111 or take child to A&E

Water does not support swallowing

If she was eating something like bread or cake, this would actually make the food swell and make her choke

I choked as a teen and I behaved exactly like your dd. The trouble is, I'm you concetrate on swallowing, you forget how to swallow!

It did go away but comes back when I'm stressed. My DM recently choked albeit on a bit of onion so not a complete blockage so she cleared it herself. She was really concentrating on chewing properly for a while after that. Its scary.

I choked as a child and then decided I wasn’t going to eat again. I didn’t eat for nearly 2 weeks, I’m talking nothing (I would drink though)
The choking episode terrified me, and in my mind, it wasn’t worth trying again. Faulty logic but I was only 4!

In the end my family left some cut up sandwiches out and took all the pressure off. They realised after a while that there were tiny nibbles out of them. It took me about a month to stop being worried about eating. I literally ate tiny bites of things and that was it but I did get over it.

EDITED *

After clarifying with husband - no Heimlich attempt just some back pats quite firmly .

In the aftermath of him recounting it he said nearly had to do Heimlich which I misheard .
Sorry for misinformation!!

Also to say immediately after and for 7/10 days her eating was fairly normal .. but then it was a like a delayed reaction that has triggered this over chewing / fear of swallowing.

Bit weird how you got mixed up.

That would of been hospital straight away.
So you thought he done the heimlich but didnt take her to get checked?

Next time and for anyone else reading this.
Take your child to hospital straight away afterwards if the Heimlich manoeuvre was used

I posted on a similar thread recently.

DS witnessed me choking (properly - unconscious and not breathing) and was really traumatised by it and it massively impacted his eating. He'd take forever to eat anything, chewing each bite a zillion times and lots a lot of weight. He needed CBT to resolve it...he's ok now, but still occasionally struggles if he's getting full etc.

I think you should talk to a GP to get your child referred to someone who can help.

This is quite a common thing to happen after choking. My 7 year old is going through it after choking back in June. It is taking nearly 2 hours to get her to eat a meal still as she breaks or cuts it into teeny tiny pieces to eat. We have now put a limit on meal time of an hour and that has helped to some degree. She has ARFID after a tummy bug gave her the fear of vomiting so it has been a struggle but she has managed to sustain the same weight throughout after the choking incident.

Also we have used the anxiety gremlin book and that has really helped.

www.amazon.co.uk/Starving-Anxiety-Gremlin-Children-Aged/dp/1849054924/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?adgrpid=57288952030&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Z5JLEg_4bQIqZgRkJVB2-s_hOwfM2pNp2iQ4C0pr9PC4UsX1B_xknYAXlf4pFKpDsux8VrrO0YQf9GiDCQH0iFElwT4_CrhxEh8N6Gopv5j1pQpihqLrB0o8rKY-Fsy-KI6iwb3wwn9wcorkTLfv806k5aneC7Yka_OuTf8n8D0gDk5KEdRM_FSc9WH43l3eDbgiJVSb66oip8EP1TkCfw.tULfw96zE6P8bzzap0Ja1WGvJm6XtgshVBv7fdKT2K8&dib_tag=se&hvadid=606211575534&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9045715&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=9725795189617904390&hvtargid=kwd-372585130717&hydadcr=21642_2291902&keywords=anxiety+gremlin&qid=1725216680&sr=8-1

Oh we had very similar when DS2 was about 5 or 6. He choked on a piece of apple, I hit him on the back and it dislodged, all OK. But over the next few days he then basically stopped eating. And he would get panicky thinking about swallowing, even when not eating. Like pp said, it gets hard to swallow when you start thinking about it.

We got him eating again on mushy breakfast cereal. And he also kept a water bottle with him, he found that helpful to keep taking small sips.

Two helpful things:

School admin lady gave him a pep talk about how she was in charge of first aid and helping children who were poorly, and she knew that every single teacher in the school had been taught what to do if someone choked.

We got a GP appointment, I went in first to explain the situation. He then had a very kind and factual chat with DS about how swallowing and choking works and told him things like 'it is possible to choke but it's very rare, none of my patients has ever died from choking' etc.

So from my experience - lots of factual reassurance, and plenty of access to fluids.

Over a few weeks/months it just faded away. He is now a strapping 16 year old and does not remember it!