Prevention Of Children Choking On A Hot Dog

With warmer weather approaching, cookouts and the All-American hot dog are becoming ever more popular.  Unfortunately, as more hot dogs are being consumed this time of year, the number of children who choke from this food item increases as well. The American Academy of Pediatrics lists the hot dog as one of the top ten foods that children choke on.  According to doctors at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, hot dogs are the number one cause of choking in young children.  In the United States, every five days, at least one child dies from choking on food.  More than 10,000 children are taken to emergency rooms each year for food related choking injuries.  One school in Florida even removed hot dogs from their lunch menu after an 11 year old choked to death when a piece got lodged in his throat.

Thankfully, great efforts to improve awareness of this high-risk choking hazard have been made.  Many major hot dog brand packaging now includes a choking hazard warning on their label stating that hot dogs can present a choking risk for children under five.  The AAP advises parents to take classes in basic first aid and in CPR.  The American Red Cross offers CPR and first aid training that prepare you to respond to life-threatening emergencies such as choking.  Contact the local American Red Cross chapter in your area and find out when these cost-effective and life-saving classes are taking place.   

Prevention is still the very best solution.  If your child or cookout guest is under the age of five and you are serving hot dogs, be sure to cut the hot dog into tiny, bite-sized pieces.  Toddler Bites, LLC is a company that has developed a Hot Dog Cutter, which splits the hot dog and cuts it into ½ pieces across.  They hope that by providing parents and caregivers with a tool that makes cutting this high-risk choke food conveniently into small, consistent pieces, that the number of unnecessary deaths and injury to young victims this food item claims each year will decrease.  Visit Toddler Bites online at http://www.toddlerbitesonline.com/.

American Academy of Pediatrics, (2009).  Electronic references.  Retrieved May 15,

            2009, from http://www.aap.org/family/birthto6.htm

City of Davis Parenting Handout, (2001).  Electronic references.  Retrieved May 15,

            2009, from http://cityofdavis.org/cs/childcare/handout/parenting-2001nov.pdf

CSPI Newsroom:  Companies Urged to Label Food Choking Hazards, (2003),

            Electronic references.  Retrieved May 15, 2009, from

            http://www.cspinet.org/new/200307171.html 

American Red Cross, (2009). Electronic references.  Retrieved May 15, 2009, from

            http://www.redcross.org