DS prone to choking/retching - narrow throat??

[ElusiveMoose]

DS is 2yrs 5months, and ever since he's been on solids he seems very prone to choke on food. I still have to cut everything up very small for him, and he can even choke on gloopy things like extra thick yoghurt. When he does choke, he always coughs the bit of food up very quickly, but this is invariably followed by throwing up the entire contents of his stomach. (He was very sicky as a baby, too.) He also retches quite a lot, particularly when I'm getting him dressed - and he hates wearing anything with a high neck.

I'm pretty sure he has inherited this from his father, who has similar issues - he doesn't choke on food, but he hates having things around his neck, and he retches easily if he's stressed or a bit unwell.

Just wondered if anyone else has a child who's suffered from this sort of problem, what causes it, and whether there's anything I can do about it? I know it's not a serious complaint, but I'm terrified he'll choke properly one day, particulary when he starts at nursery and I'm not there to supervise his meals.

Thanks .

It could well be he has emlarged tonsils that are making it difficlut for him so swallow things. Has he had a bad throuat infection in his life? It might be worth getting him checked out at the doctors.

It also might be that he has a sensitive gag reflex and he might need help in overcoming this. This is not choking, this is gagging and he won't choke because of this.

Thanks, it hadn't occurred to me that he might be gagging rather than choking. When you say 'help' with his gag reflex, do you have any idea what that might involve?

Gagging and choking are seperate things, all baby's 'gag' when they are learning about food, for example, it doesn't mean anything is wrong. I remember when I used to work as a dental nurse, some adults and children patients would have very sensitive gag reflexes and alternative therapies such as accupunture and relaxation would help these people but I'm not sure how that would help your DS. It might be worth having a word with your GP.

Dd1 used to gag on food, she grew out of it by the time she was 4. I lost count of the times i had to wack her on the back to remove items from her throat. I can remember her chocking on a crisp at a party and she ended up being sick all over her shoes .

Marne- Gagging is not choking though, choking is seperated into 2 types- partial choking and full choking. Partially choking is what your DD did on the crisp, full choking is when the wind-pipe is completely obscured and it is life threatening.

Gagging on the other hand is when an object triggers the gag reflex by touching far back on the tongue, it has nothing to do with obsrtucting airways and it is something that can be unlearned on an overly sensitive gag-reflex.

Thumping a child on the back when they are gagging may only exacberate the problem as it can cause panic and anxiety over food, especially if others are panicking too. If a child gags it is best to leave them to deal with it themselves, same for a partial obstruction. The only time we need to intervene is if a child is fully choking, and that, thankfully is rare.

Sorry,forgot to say, dd1 was a gagger (gagged on lumps) and also chocked easily with harder foods such as crisps and toast. I only hit her on the back when she was chocking and struggling to breathe (to save her life).