Monday, July 19, 2010

Timely Summer Safety Reminder

My good friend Sharon Katz of Voices Magazine has an article about first aid training on her blog.  It reminds me that this is a very dangerous season.  Here's my comment:

First aid is so important to know. Many years ago, soon after reading about the Heimlich maneuver for removing something from a choking person's throat, I had to do it on my youngest child when an ice cube got caught. My husband's cousin had to do CPR on her daughter around the same time, also because of an ice cube.

Yes, ice cubes may be considered as a great zero sugar cooler for the kids (and others) but it can also endanger life if it gets stuck in the throat.  People choke on ice cubes.  So please beware.

2 comments:

Jennifer in MamaLand said...

Oy! Feels like this is aimed straight at me. Last summer, I gave me one year old a TON of ice cubes. He loved them, and it supplied much-needed water. I figured it was a win-win and never thought twice - where I would NEVER have given him grapes, popcorn, hot dogs, nuts or a whole cherry tomato (and still don't, until he turns 3). Thank you for smacking some sense into mamas like me who figure "it's just water."

Batya said...

Three isn't a cut-off for this. Ice must be in tiny pieces. I'll never forget when I had to do Heimlich. There was a yeshiva boy selling Otzar Beit Din Wine/Juice, who said:
"I read about it but never saw it." I answered: "Me, too."