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Sunday 2 May 2010

Chew your food............

is my cry to MWM everytime he eats now.   Why you may ask?    Because  last Tuesday evening not chewing a piece of steak properly landed him in hospital overnight!

The unchewed piece of steak lodged in his throat and he couldn't breathe so I belted him on his back a few times and tried the Heimlick Manoevre which unfortunately did not expel the offending object but did move it further down his gullet so at least he could breathe. 



Unfortunately this also resulted in him not being able to swallow even his own saliva and consequently he was heaving all the time.   We decided a visit to A&E was essential.   

The triage nurse ascertained that he could breathe so it wasn't an immediate emergency and we waited, along with the cut fingers, sprained ankles, bleeding heads, drunks and everything else one sees in the A& E department, for 90 minutes until a doctor called us through to the examination cubicles.   After an xray, which showed the piece of steak stuck firmly in MWM's gullet, and an injection of Buscopan to relax his stomach and gullet, we waited until 11 p.m. (it was 6.30 p.m. when we arrived at A&E) for a bed on a ward to become available.   The doctor on the ward examined MWM but said the ENT medics wouldn't do anything about his predicament until morning, so they gave him another injection of Buscopan and put him on a glucose drip so he didn't get dehydrated and told him to try to get some sleep.

The following morning MWM woke up and realised he could swallow again so they tested him with sips of water then when he was able to keep that down they gave him some cereal and a cup of tea and sent him home.

Thankfully the only after affect is that his throat is a little sore and I am constantly nagging him to chew his food.  So take heed - chew your food properly!

32 comments:

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

i have a friend who lost her husband that way. in a restaurant he choked on a piece of meat and died right there. horrible. i am so glad mym is okay! scary stuff. i know sarge and i eat too fast and it scares me too.

smiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxxo

A Lady's Life said...

oh gosh that is really scary.
Can you imagine sitting like this for so long.
I guess trying to swallow an ice cube to help wouldn't have helped.

Ron said...

Whew...how scary!

Thank god you were there to assist him because I'm sure your quick thinking helped a great deal.

Thank you for this reminder because I do not always chew my food proper. I eat too fast.

So glad to hear MWM is okay.

X

Dumdad said...

What a nightmare. Glad to hear he's much better. I must remember to chew my food more thoroughly!

Akelamalu said...

OMG that's just terrible Bee, the poor woman! I can see how it happened though, it truly is terrifying when it happens.

He couldn't get anything, even saliva, passed the meat Lady's Life :(


I eat too fast too Ron but MWM is usually very careful we just don't know how it happened. :0


Yes do take care Dumdad, it can happen so easily.

Evalinn said...

Scary!

buffalodick said...

Glad he is OK! My wife and son both eat like it's their last meal, while I am the slowest eater I know! I talk too much to boot...

Unknown said...

Glad that he is ok and you got to take care too.. It is a habit that needs to be rectified.

hugs
shakira

G-Man said...

Wow Ake!!!
Everyday is a challenge N'est ce pas?
Chew well and prosper...

Catsngrams said...

That is so scarry. I had a piece of meat lodge in my windpipe the other day and DH did the heimlicker? on me and it worked. I think we all need to slow down and chew chew chew.

Akelamalu said...

Yes it was Evalinn

I'm a fast eater but MWM is usually slow and careful so we don't know what went wrong this time Buff.

We're both being careful now Shakira

Yes indeedy G-man!

How lucky that DH was there to help you Catsngrams! :0

Travis Cody said...

I have choked on a piece of food before and it is one of the most frightening things to go through. Even after that experience, I sometimes take bites that a re a bit too big and may not get them thoroughly chewed.

It seems such a simple thing...take smaller bites and take the time to chew them. But somehow we seem to be in a rush to get the food eaten as quickly as possible.

I'm glad everything worked out ok for you and your husband.

Finding Pam said...

Akelamula...That sounds so frightening. I am so thankful that he is alright.

Thanks for the post to remind us to chew our food and to eat more slowly. My mother always made us chew each bite twenty times or more.

Blessings to you and MWM

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

brave!
smart post!

Maggie May said...

Oh my Goodness....... that was a terrible palaver. It seemed almost cruel that he had to wait so long in such discomfort.
Thank goodness that I am practically vegetarian...... though I have heard of children choking to death on grapes.

Nuts in May

Gledwood said...

How horrible!

You'd be better off with minced beef in future... which you needn't chew at all... which is the major ingredient in shepherd's pie...

... and the shepherd's pie and jelly and ice cream is what I really like about hospital food ;->...

Maude Lynn said...

How scary! I'm so glad that he is okay!

Charlene Amsden said...

Too scary! I think coming out of the other side of such an ordeal with naught but a sore throat and a nagging wife is way lucky! I'm in totally agreement with chewing one's food thoroughly and eating more slowly!

secret agent woman said...

Wow, that sounds both frightening and unpleasant. I'm glad you were able to at least get him to the breathing point.

Linda said...

Thank goodness that wasn't as bad as it could have been! Having a partially obstructed airway is not a good time by any stretch of the imagination but hopefully it taught your hubby that he really, really, really needs to chew his food more thoroughly.

Glad that he's okay now, though!

Akelamalu said...

I'm sorry you had to experience that too Trav but I suspect it taught you to chew your food better. :)

It was very frightening Pam but thankfully it ended OK. (phew)

Thanks Jingle :)

It did seem a long wait in A&E Maggie but they were very busy. Children can choke on the smallest thing, one has to watch them like a hawk!

I threatened to put all his food through the blender in future if he doesn't chew it properly Gleds! (wink)

Thanks Mama Zen x

He was very lucky indeed Quilly! :0

Oh me too SAW I really tried not to panic myself! :0

He is usually very careful Linda, eating slowly and chewing so we really don't know what happened. You're right it could have be so, so much worse!

Julia Phillips Smith said...

Scary.

Akelamalu said...

It certainly was Julia!

CG said...

OMG how terrifying, thank God he is ok!!

Akelamalu said...

It was really scary CG and yes he is OK, thank goodness.

nitebyrd said...

OMG! How terrifying! I'm glad to here he's okay.

fionas rotties said...

Apparently Heimlick does not like his name being associated with this manoeuvre now and we have to call it the 'abdominal thrust'!!

fionas rotties said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TBM said...

Oh my dear... I am so glad your sweet MWM is okay. How scary for the two of you.

MarmiteToasty said...

oh my goodness, Im just glad he is ok......

now, he cant be trusted to chew his food properly so the best bet is to either buy jars of baby food or blend everything he eats up.... chinky take away in a blender :) yum lol

x

Spiky Zora Jones said...

i saved my cousin from choking like that. I was lucky to see her choking it was a party and no one noticed. I was quick. It was a piece of chicken. hum...i was probably more afraid them she was.

Misty DawnS said...

WOW! I guess I've always though, if you can breathe, then you're out of danger. Goes to show I don't know much. LOL