The report of a child choking due to piece of meat in the Pune Mirror throws up a question: Is meat safe for toddlers. Experts believe that a toddler chokes on meat, if the pieces are slightly big. For parents interested to know is meat safe for toddlers, the answer is it could be alright if it is made into tiny bits.

In Pune, the mother of the toddler, who is one-half-year old, fed him with a slightly big piece of meat. The meat entered the windpipe and got stuck there. After reading the report many were curious to know is meat safe for small kids.

Emergency medical care saw the small child out of danger. A child chokes on meat if it does not enter the food pipe but goes into the trachea.

Dr Sanjay Raut, pediatric surgeon, said a child chokes on meat when the food instead of entering the oesophagus enters the trachea.  In the light of such complications experts need to specify is meat safe for toddlers.

Dr Raut, who treated the child said, in this case the toddler had cold and he coughed while eating the piece of meat.  Is meat safe for toddlers suffering with cold?

The meat piece entered the trachea and reached the left main bronchus. This blocked the child’s breath, said Dr Raut. A bronchoscopy was done on the kid.

Parents should consult medical experts to find out when is meat safe for kids. When a child chokes on meat, the oxygen supply to the brain is decreased. This could lead to numerous neurological problems.

Dr Raut said the oxygen saturation has to be 100% for a proper neurological function. Otherwise, a child may have to suffer inability to walk, hear or see.

After this ordeal, his parents were left with the question, is meat safe for kids? Doctors advice that when a child chokes on meat, remember to rush the kid to a hospital to prevent further medical complications.

Image credits: ag.udel.edu