SWALLOWING FOREIGN BODIES
Small articles such as buttons, safety pins, thimbles, coins, etc., are often swallowed by little folks, and if they lodge in the throat and the child struggles for his breath the treatment is as follows: grasp him by the heels and turn him upside down while a helper briskly slaps him on the back. The foreign body generally flies across the room. If it is lodged high up in the throat it may often be dislodged by the thumb and finger. If it cannot be reached and it will not go down, lose no time in seeking an X-ray laboratory where its exact location may quickly be discovered and proper measures instituted for its removal.
A troublesome fish bone is easily dislodged by swallowing a half-chewed piece of bread which carries it down to the stomach. Cathartics and purgatives are not to be given; in due time the object will appear in the stool. In all instances it is well to locate its exact position by the X ray—that there may be assurance that it will do no harm.
It is surprising what large objects can be swallowed. One old gentleman swallowed his false teeth, and a six months old baby swallowed, or at least had lodged in its throat, a silver dollar.
All detachable parts should be removed from toys that are given to babies, such as the whistle from rubber animals, the button eyes of wool kittens and dogs, and other such removable parts.