Ingesting foreign bodies

It is the swallowing of an object that is not food. It is a fact that it can occur at any age but it is more frequent between 12 months and 3 years. The child driven by his curiosity and desire to know everything that surrounds him, all objects are put in their mouths and may be ingested inadvertently.

The objects most often ingested by children are coins, pins, button batteries, marbles, and toy parts.

Symptoms

Of the total number of foreign bodies that are accidentally swallowed by children, 80% are spontaneously eliminated in the faeces because they pass without difficulty through the digestive tract.

The risk associated with ingesting a foreign body depends on its size, shape, composition and where it is located. When they are sharp or pointed objects, they are at greater risk of producing a perforation in the digestive tract.

When the foreign body is lodged in the esophagus It can cause chest pain, difficulty swallowing, coughing, refusal of food and increased saliva (hypersalivation). In cases of perforation, the child will present a bad appearance, fever and even a septic picture.

The objects that remain in the stomach usually give few symptoms except if they perforate the stomach, which causes a serious situation and a very intense pain.

The first test done on the child is a bone scan, since metallic objects can be seen where they are located and how big they are.

Treatment

In most cases the objects that are swallowed are oval, with small and blunt edges so they will not give problems and will be expelled in the stool in three or four days helped with one.

In the case of batteries, sharp and / or sharp objects, presence of pain, blood in the stool or, if the foreign body has not come out in a reasonable time, other types of techniques must be used.

The most used technique to extract foreign bodies is endoscopy. It is a simple treatment that also allows us to see how the mucosa of the digestive tract is; In other words, we can know if the object has caused any damage to the esophagus, stomach or small intestine. To perform this test, the child must be fully anesthetized.

About 60% of objects are in the stomach at the time of diagnosis. In the children under 3 years old objects less than 3 centimeters in length can safely exit the stomach. Larger, pointed or sharp objects must be removed.

20% of foreign bodies remain anchored in the esophagus. It is an especially dangerous situation since these objects can be aspirated and pass into the trachea or puncture the esophagus and damage nearby organs: the aorta and trachea. In these cases, its rapid extraction is very important.

In the case of ingestion of button batteries, it must be taken into account that they contain highly toxic and corrosive substances (mercury, zinc, silver oxide, sodium or potassium hydroxide, lithium ...). If the battery opens it can burn and necrotize the mucosa, producing a perforation. The battery must be removed urgently by endoscopy.

Prevention

The best treatment is prevention, not placing objects within reach of the child or infant that, due to their small size or toxicity, can be swallowed. You always have to look at the recommended age on the toys that we buy for children.

Supervision of the game by adults and maintaining security measures at home are key to avoid this type of situation.