A blogger mom in Australia is speaking out after an X-ray of her son’s chest showed that a full grape had been lodged in his airway.
Angela Henderson has shared on her Finlee and Me Facebook page the shocking photo of her son’s X-ray to warn other parents to always cut their babies’ fruit and vegetables.
“Attention Parents! Do you know what this X-ray is of? A grape that was lodged in the top of a 5-year-old’s airway today,” she wrote. “This sweet soul had to be operated on, under general anaesthetic to remove the grape.”
“He is VERY lucky that part of his airway was open or else this could have ended badly,” she added.
As Henderson explains in her post, not all children chew their food properly when all they want to do is run around outside and play with their friends on the playground.
“Please be careful. And when in doubt just cut the damn grapes, baby tomatoes etc,” she advises.
According to a report in The Guardian, grapes can be dangerous if they are not digested properly. The report shows that they are behind only hotdogs and sweets as the most common cause of death in food-related incidents.
Grapes can be so dangerous, in fact, that Scottish doctor Jamie Cooper is calling for warning labels on all grapes, as they pose a serious choking risk for young children.
“We only see the tip of the iceberg, we only see it when it is not alleviated,” Cooper said, of the likely high number of grape-related choking incidents that may take place outside of the ER.
After Henderson shared her experience on Facebook, more than 1,000 parents commented.
“Or how about teaching your kids not to with food in their mouth. Or chew for that matter. Noooo it's always the fault of something external...much easier to blame something else than plain old accidents (yes, they happen!). Will you also advocate kids not going outside for fear of those dreadfully dangerous sidewalks they might break their necks on when walking backwards? O and before I forget to mention it: yes I am a parent too. Of 4. All healthy, all responsible and all as unpredictable as kids will be. and all have had (and will have) uncontrollable accidents at some point in time,” one parent wrote.
“I think this needs to be for all ages, anyone could choke on a grape. Like on TV the other day I saw "grown ups" trying to throw grapes into each other's mouths.. And elderly or less able people who maybe can't chew well...,” another added.
