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The routine process of eating is a very common cause of fatal accidents in homes; however, timely action and help can prevent death. The openings of the digestive tract (oesophagus) and the respiratory tract (trachea) are adjacent to each other, one leads to the stomach and the other to the lungs. Normally, reflex makes sure that while one is open to receive what is legitimately supposed to go in, the other gets shut. If, however, what goes into the stomach enters the passage leading to the lungs, death by suffocation would be the result becasue of obstruction of the air passage. Accidents of food going into the air passage (trachea) occur when you talk of laugh while you are in the process of masticating the food, usually this rings about a fit cough which brings the offending material ut and the victim recovers. If however the substance enters far down the trachea the victim is likely to get choked to death in a minute or two. Infants and small children can choke on any kind of food specially peanuts. They can also choke on soft mushy food if you stuff too much into their mouths, or if you feed them while they are lying down, or if you make them laugh while feeding them, or keep putting food into their mouth while they are crying. Most of the time you can handle the situation by holding the child upside down by his legs and slapping his back. Lozenges or any round and small objects which
a child can put into his mouth are a source of risk. If you are fortunate and the objects are tiny enough, they can go down the trachea into smaller breathing vessels in the lungs from where they can be removed by the doctor. In adults, such accidents usually occur when you are eating too fast and gulping down large pieces of meat. Alcohol before meals increase the tendency to do this. Sudden laughter while eating can bring this about.