please help, panicking

[Strawberrypip]

hello,

my baby is 10 months old. about half hour ago I thought she was choking on something a lot of coughing etc. pink in the face. in a blind panic (and I know you're not supposed to do this I just freaked out) I put my finger in her mouth/throat. well she started crying immediately. I was relieved for a second as thought atleast she wasnt choking. but now I'm really panicking I could have hurt her or done some serious damage. I dont think my finger went very far down her throat but I'm so so worried. the GP we are at is shutting any minute and seems a bit crazy to take her to a and e for it. shes just had a lot of milk and gone to sleep but I'm really scaring myself that I've done some damage to her throat :(

I think I'm panicking cos I've got longish nails and I'm terrified I've scraped her throat or done some harm :(

I highly doubt you've done any damage whatsoever. She's drinking well and sleeping well. She's fine.

Phone 111 to put your mind at rest but honestly if she’s asleep now it seems like she’s fine. Presumably (if weaning is going ok) solid food goes down her throat too so I can’t imagine it’s that much different to your finger unless you’ve got long scratchy nails?

I'm sure she hasn't got any lasting damage if she drank her milk ok and is now asleep.

How long would she normally nap for at this time of day? Can you give her a little snack when she wakes up to reassure yourself that she's swelling without discomfort?

Don't be cross with yourself OP. Your instinct was to deal with the choking.

Maybe see if there are any local paediatric first aid courses available, to give you confidence.

She will be fine. If you'd done damage she wouldn't be asleep. No need to worry :) in the meantime have a look at first aid for choking.

they're not super long but they're not really short either, I'm just scared because in my blind panic I dont remember if I jabbed hard or what. I think I'm still not calm after the initial panic that she was choking, trying to reassure myself that shes okay as she has just drunk a lot of milk and slept. I just read a lot of horror stories about cuts scratches in the throat or esophagus being pierced that I've really panicked myself

Well you haven't done as much harm as you would have done had she had something stuck, you may have dislodged something she has now swallowed and you won't ever know

You were being a good mum - even if she has a scratch you did it trying to make sure she was OK - its hard being a parent don't beat yourself up you were being a great mum

If you had hurt her, you'd know it. She would be crying and inconsolable.

I'm trying to be rational but I think it's just where I panicked so much I dont know how far down I pushed or anything. I have pretty small hands so trying to reassure myself that I cant have gone that far down and all the warnings on why you shouldn't do it says not to incase you push object further down nothing about in case you do the throat damage but just cant calm down :(

Read this, you’ll feel better. Even if you have scratched her throat, it will heal just like a scratch anywhere else will.

This link has a list of symptoms to look out for that would warrant medical advice. From your description she doesn’t have any of them:

www.fairview.org/sitecore/content/Fairview/Home/Patient-Education/Articles/English/p/h/a/r/y/Pharyngeal_Abrasion_116398en

Honestly, get a hold of yourself. Your baby is perfectly fine.

I suffer with anxiety anyway and my mind does tend to catastrophize. first time mum on top of that and the smallest thing can cause immense worry.

thanks for that link Mrswolf it has helped me chill out

just feel bad that's all, I know you're not supposed to put your fingers down someones throat who is choking as well, it's scary how much of a blind panic I went into

Why don't you book yourself onto a paediatric first aid course OP? I'm sure there will be some running online at the moment. I was relatively anxious about my kids choking etc and the course helped massively!