Who should not drink the grapes this New Year's Eve

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• Special First Aid What to do if you witness a choking

There are hours left until 2022 ends and as every December 31, most Spanish homes have the

already prepared to say goodbye to the year that is ending and welcome the new one.

As every year, it is also convenient to remember the

to avoid scares and end the night in the ER or much worse.

No one is exempt from being able to choke on any occasion, but this moment lends itself especially to it because the grapes are slippery, they have seeds that we usually swallow in the rush of the bells and their size can clog the airways.

In fact, it is one of the main reasons why people usually go to the ER on New Year's Eve.

It is not about prohibiting, but about knowing the risks and what can be done if that happens.

"Choking usually occurs because

. This often causes a feeling of lack of air and makes us cough as a mechanism to expel that element. Liquid, even if it is irritating, can be expelled more easily than solids," explains Lorenzo Armenteros, spokesman for the Spanish Society of General and Family Physicians (SEMG).

Come on, what we daily call 'go the other way'.

"In both cases - adds Armenteros - there is an added risk that is not only that we choke on a product, but that at a certain moment that effort or that irritation that has occurred in the bronchus

, which is what it really clogs the passage of air,

, the biggest complication".

Groups that should not eat grapes

Although no one is free from choking, in some specific cases it is not advisable to take grapes under any circumstances.

This is the case of

(in which grapes are the third cause of choking), as recalled by the Spanish Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery (SEORL-CCC), who adds that when they are offered For older children, they should be skinless, seeded, and cut into pieces lengthwise.

"The swallowing reflex is not fully developed in children and that is why they are more likely to choke. A part of our airways, called the epiglottis, is like a gate that allows food to pass on one side and the air for another, and this

. In the case of the former due to immaturity and in the case of the latter due to disorder because the swallowing mechanism is reduced. And it must be added that

as in an adult,

, many times it is not as good as one would like and then the pieces that pass into the digestive tract are larger and there is a greater risk of choking", indicates Armenteros.

Both the SEORL-CCC and Armenteros insist that

, "which can be even more dangerous because the problem lies in taking it so quickly that you have to take the grapes. It is for children It's better to tell them that it's not for them," adds the SEMG spokesperson.

Armenteros adds another group,

.

In these cases, because "there is no reaction sometimes of a synchronized chewing mechanism and when a type of swallowing consistency is reached, but rather their own cognitive deficit sometimes causes an alteration of chewing, causing them to try to swallow quickly and very large pieces ".

Lastly,

," emphasizes Armenteros.

"Dysphagia is the inability to transport food from the oral cavity to the stomach. It can affect both liquids and solids. People with this disease have difficulty handling many everyday foods and this has a huge impact on their lives" , indicate from the Dysphagia and Swallowing Disorders Unit of the Quirónsalud Madrid University Hospital.

Armenteros points out that in cases of dysphagia, any risk of large or poorly crushed food must be avoided.

"What you have to do is anything that favors the swallowing of food with

."

Alternatives to grapes in case of dysphagia

drop down

The Dysphagia and Swallowing Analysis Unit of Hospital Quironsalud Madrid have launched

for three common modalities in the world of dysphagia, according to the international nomenclature of the International Diet Standardization initiative for Patients with Dysphagia (IDDSI).

"They can make adapted grapes

that achieve a preparation with a texture similar to honey (IDDSI 3) or pudding (IDDSI 4) that can be served at the table in 12 teaspoons."

For the person with milder dysphagia, they suggest that they peel the grapes, remove the seeds and cut them in half or into quarters (IDDSI 6), obtaining a

to be digested.

What to do if choking occurs

Dr. Armenteros explains that if choking occurs and we know that it is a solid element, "if it is a child, first of all, open the mouth and see if it is accessible. In this case, try to remove it with your fingers. Also in the case of an adult, but in both cases with great care because sometimes what we can do is even embed it even more".

The first step, explains the SEMG spokesperson, is to give the

.

"In that interscapular space because sometimes they clap very low and there is no lung there anymore. It has to be where there is lung to see if that dry blow of the clap causes the pressure that the air has stuck to expel the element. Yes doesn't work, we should all know about the

, which is very simple and has saved so many lives: you place a fist, thumb inward, below the sternum and above the navel, and push up into that space." , emphasizes Armenteros.

The SEMG spokesperson continues: "If the bronchoconstriction that I mentioned before occurs, the next step is usually loss of consciousness, so when we do the Heimlich maneuver

there is a loss of consciousness due to bronchoconstriction or because the product that has entered the respiratory tract has not come out, what we have to do is start doing

to continue pumping blood ".

Fundamental:

.

"It is preferable to call later to say that everything has been resolved than to start with the maneuvers and if these do not go well and we had not called, we have lost 10 minutes that can be vital in the event that the emergency services have to do cardiac massage, tracheostomy or anything else," emphasizes Armenteros.

Tips for everyone to avoid choking

It seems like a truism, but

, something that we usually skip with the effusiveness of these occasions and surrounded by many people.

"Also having an intense chewing,

. For this reason, we must try to chew as much as possible before making the threat of swallowing," emphasizes Armenteros.

"At this time

and makes us all susceptible. That is why it is convenient to reach the grapes without too much alcohol and food intake because that will make everything difficult for us, including them, swallow the grapes", highlights the SEMG spokesperson.

As mentioned in children, it is not recommended that adults replace grapes with conguitos, lacasitos, peanuts or jelly beans, which can be worse than grapes.

For these to be

.

"That makes them easier to chew and easier to swallow because they are softer and a grape with the skin on can create more serious choking," says Armenteros.

If you don't want to give up grapes, think that

.

Take it easy, chew them properly and don't worry about finishing eating them when the year takes a few minutes, you have many hours left of that first day and another 364 more to enjoy it.

Armenteros ends by asking: "That we take Christmas traditions with all the peace of mind in the world and with joy and common sense."

'Bonus track'

Be careful with

: it is forbidden to put them in your mouth and say Pamplona.

They can create a compact mass in the mouth and, if the person laughs or coughs while chewing them, it will help traces reach the larynx, trachea or bronchi, making breathing difficult.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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