A 10-year-old girl from Texas almost died after she accidentally swallowed and started choking on one of the bearings of her fidget spinner.
They had to take an xray to find the piece
According to Kelly Rose Joniec, she heard her daughter, Britton suddenly choking in the back seat of their car. After pulling over, she discovered that she had accidentally swallowed one of the bearings of her fidget spinner. After trying to do the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge the bearing, she immediately took her daughter to an urgent care center.
Initially, doctors were unable to find where the piece had gotten stuck, so they had to take her to Texas Children’s Hospital to get an xray and figure out how to get the bearing out.
In a Facebook post, Kelly writes, “Britton was taken to surgery to endoscopically locate and remove the object. Fortunately we had a positive outcome, but it was pretty scary there for a while…not only because of the initial ingestion, but then the concern about the composition and structure of the object, and finally, the risk with general anesthesia.”
Are fidget spinners safe?
This recent incident sheds some light into just how safe the trendy new toy is.
Most of the fidget spinners that are being sold have a warning, saying “CHOKING HAZARD – Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.” However, the surprising thing here is that it’s not a 3-year-old girl who choked on the bearing, but a 10-year-old girl.
Additionally, the fact that the bearing came off the toy should be cause for concern, as it can indeed become a choking hazard, especially for younger kids.
While we can’t say that all fidget spinners are dangerous, it’s still important for parents to make sure that the toys that they give their kids are safe, and to never leave younger children unattended.
What are fidget spinners?
Touted as the trendy new toy of this year, fidget spinners consist of a central bearing surrounded by 3 “paddles” that also have bearings.
To play with the toy, the user just has to hold the middle bearing, and spin the paddles around. Fidget spinners and similar “fidget” toys are commonly used to regulate a person’s attention and it helps people diagnosed with ADHD to have a form of constant stimulation. These have long been used by counselors, teachers, and therapists.
However, some schools are banning the use of fidget spinners as they are sometimes proving to be a distraction during classes.
Source: edition.cnn.com
READ: 14-week-old baby girl choked to death from a headband
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