Horrible choking incident this PM - should I take DD to be checked out?

[Pennies]

DD2 (11months) choked on a some apple this afternoon. She was beginning to go blue by the time I dislodged it with some hefty smacking in her back whilst holding her upside down. It all happened in public so god knows what people thought I was up to.

She seems fine now and is eating well and is generally happy. Should I be looking out for anything in particular just in case there's some delayed reaction or something?

oh goodness, poor you (and dd, although i'm sure she's completely unaffected by it now unlike mummy!!). Not sure. I'd be wondering the same thing, but I think in the end there is not a lot a doctor could do now. maybe i'm wrong...... but as she's fine maybe you're okay not taking her.

It was really awful. Feel so responsible.

no, don't be silly.
my dd had one minor incident (with cheese i think) and i was petrified. Even now, and she is 3.5, I panic with food. ACtually, when we were on a long haul flight recently she got a piece of sausage stuck and I was so scared. I had her out her seat belt and was walloping her on the back...

it's our job to worry, but honestly, these things do happen. She's fine, so there is no harm done (as trite as that sounds).

{{{HUGS))) though cos I can appreciate how you;re feeling.

did anyone ask if either of you were ok??

God it's TERRIFYING isn't it? This happened to dd too when she was about 5 months, she choked on some phlegm and then after that she was just a very choky sort of baby. Poor love consequently got mush a LOT. No, they're usually ok once it's out and all over.

of course they didn't! we were at a soft play place too and there was a massive table of women sitting right by us with their kids just watching. was a bit p'd off that no-one offered to help. Maybe I played the "stay calm... stay calm... stay calm" card a bit too strongly.

grrrr at bystanders.

are you feeling any calmer now?

I think apple as it's so hard is quite dangerous until a certain age. My dd once had apple after her lunch aged 12mths and it went down the wrong way so I banged her back and she brought up the apple and the rest of her lunch. After that I would quarter, peel and core apples, then cut each quarter into 3 before steaming them so that they softened (not to a mush) so that they weren't so hard that they got stuck. I hope you are less shaken now, I can't believe nobody came over to you to see if everything was okay. What about the staff there as they would have been first aid trained?

What a horrible experience for you. You did well though. At a guess, if she looks a good colour, has not got a residual cough following the event and her breathing is calm, she'll be fine.

Sometimes if you are doing the right thing it is probably better that other people don't jump in and help , most of the time they don't have a clue.

Saying that my MIL ended up helping a mum who had split hot tea on her toddler in Asda, lots of staff faffing about saying "Oh oh I am a first aider", yes well trying to get his leg under a warm tap in the loos ain't gonna help, MIL got him through to the big sink in the cafe kitchen and sorted them out, She was amazed at all the staff hanging about without a clue what to do.

Well done you did the right thing, if anybody reading this wouldn't have known what to do then......
GO ON A FIRST AID COURSE!!!!!!
Make sure you know what to do if your kids have an accident don't expect others to help, or know what to do. There are lots of free or cheap courses. OK! .

BTW tortellini pasta was my DD choking food of choice, she did it everytime if I missed one and didn't cut in half.

Sometimes a child's throat can become irritated and swolen following a choking incident but given that time has elapsed and your DD is able to eat happily, I would think that she must be OK. Ringing NHS Direct might set your mind more at ease.

Be kind to yourself. Accidents happen to everyone. For our DS the choking material of choice was a marble and it was really scary as we had no context and he was not a particularly oral child. Thankfully, he lived to tell the tale and has put even less in his mouth since.

i keep on thinking i need to go on a course. haven't updated my first aid for about 5 years, and i didn't have my dd then so was a bit blase about it .

must lookup local courses!

Go for it. Always a good idea to refresh your training and learn the up to date advice on resus etc. Even if it is to reassure yourself that you could deal with your own kids accidents the that is reason enough.

StAndrews
St Johns
Red Cross

Local colleges and other places do courses too, get googling now!!!

I did a first aid course just after dd1 ws born so I knew what to do and believe me I was begining to start thinking about the next steps if I hadn't been able to do it. The thing is I couldn't really remember what it was. Perhaps I need a refresher course.

Feel a bit better tho did lose the plot when both my dd's were in hyper-tired-splash-and-scream mode in the bath and it all went pear shaped and I cried.

I find I go into auto pilot and it hits you afterwards. The first time I had to deal with choking was when I nannied, then DD has done it at least 6 times with the before mentioned pasta.

One reason why I would want a nanny to be qualified or at least first aid trained, same goes for childminders.

Back slaps
Chest thrusts
abdominal thrusts (in a child over a year)

If they go unconscious then begin cpr

There you go quick revision - hope noone ever has to use it!

St Johns advice on chocking with video clip}.

Remember different dealing with babies, toddlers and adults.