KEVON FELMINE
Senior Reporter
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
As a Siparia community reels from the death of two-year-old Raniah Lewis, consultant paediatrician and child neurologist, Dr Rajindra Parag, says all parents, guardians and caregivers should learn life-saving techniques in order to help save a choking child.
Parag said Raniah’s death was tragic, adding that too many children have suffered that fate.
A police report stated that the toddler’s mother, Roletta Lewis and her father, Akeba Scipio, were not at home last Thursday. She was staying with her aunt Amanda Ramadhar and eight other cousins.
Her uncle, Keron Scipio, bought chennettes and put them on a shelf. Scipio said he believes one of the children climbed up on a washing machine, took the chennettes and shared them among the cousins.
Scipio told Guardian Media he was heating his food when Raniah came walking with two cousins, struggling to breathe. He tried to dislodge the chennette by tapping Raniah on her back, turning her over and pumping her chest. When that failed, he took her to the Siparia District Health Facility. A doctor removed the seed, but Raniah was already dead.
Parag said a child can die within ten minutes without oxygen. Therefore, adults must understand the signs of a choking child.
He explained that a choking child would move about their upper body, especially their head, while trying to clear their throat. They will also struggle to speak based on where the object is in their throat.
“Firstly, the child will have difficulty breathing. You will see that they cannot send air down. There is a lot of effort to breathe. Some may have a cough to try and clear this object. If it is that bad, they may even faint,” Parag said.
He advised that the adult should open the child’s mouth, check for an object and see if they can remove it. If they cannot, they should execute the Heimlich manoeuvre, which compresses the abdomen, using an upward trajectory to force the blockage from the child’s throat.
There are also back blows, where the adult bends the child forward, hitting their back firmly with the heel of the hands between the shoulder blade. The pressure and vibration can force the object out.
“You can turn them over. If it is a light person, you can put their tummy on your arm or leg and try to hit the upper back with some serious blows to try and dislodge the object,” the doctor said.
Parag explained that most medical personnel know these techniques, including Emergency Medical Technicians on ambulances. However, he said it could take a long time to reach a health facility, depending on where the incident occurred.
He said even if a child survives a choking incident, there can be severe organ failure due to the time spent without oxygen, especially the brain and lungs. It is similar to the long-term health consequences drowning survivors can experience, resulting in mental and motor impairment.
Therefore, he said, prevention is better than cure.
“Firstly, we must avoid them having small objects to play with because kids have a knack for putting things in their mouths. Small toys and various seeds, whether a plum, chennettes or any small object. We have to make sure they have no access to it.”
He recommended all caretakers of children learn first aid or life-saving skills, which are available on YouTube, as it is not difficult to learn and apply.
