3-year-old girl rushed to hospital in UAE after she swallows a coin

Sharjah - 'It happened within a split second right in front of my eyes'

A three-year-old girl who swallowed a 50-fil coin accidentally was rescued after the timely involvement of her parents and doctors at Al Zahra Hospital, Sharjah.
Ayat Isra was playing at home when she chanced upon the coin and quickly put it in her mouth.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, her mother Shabnaz Aziz said: "It happened in a split-second, right in front of my eyes. I was speaking to my sister over the phone when I saw Ayat picking up the coin and putting it into her mouth. I left the phone and ran to her but by that time she had already swallowed it and began choking. I called my husband, who was on his way home, and he advised to try different techniques such as holding her upside down but nothing worked. Thankfully, she was able to breathe but the coin was causing irritation."
Aziz then rushed the child to Al Zahra Hospital where the doctors took an X-ray and located the coin near the lower intestine.
Dr Prithvi Priyadarshini, specialist gastroenterologist, conducted an endoscopic procedure under the care of paediatric surgeon Dr Wissam Al Tamr and was able to remove the coin in just one minute and six seconds. The girl was back home the very day of the gastroscopy surgery.
"The child was lucky that the coin did not get stuck in her wind or food pipe and straight landed in her stomach. And because the parents got her to the ER quickly, the extraction process was also quick and smooth. I managed to locate and get the coin out of her stomach in just about a minute through endoscopy. This helped us keep the sedation time of the child also to minimum," Dr Prithvi said.



What to do if your child swallows a foreign object

> Kids are usually curious and can swallow anything from coins, toy parts, button batteries and magnets so keep small objects away from their reach
> In case of an incident, keep a close watch on toddlers and see what they have swallowed and rush him or her to the ER
> Do not give any food to the child after it has swallowed any foreign object as it may cause issue with the procedure that the doctors undertake to extract the object
> Do not try to extract the object out by yourself, seek medical help
> Do not panic and see if your child complains of discomfort such as breathing issues, abdominal or chest pain
 saman@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah