Paramedic: hotdogs are the food that cause the most choking incidents in children

An Australian paramedic has revealed the one food that poses more of a choking risk than any other.

CEO of parenting organisation Tiny Hearts Education, Nikki Jurcutz, issued a warning to parents across Australia about the dangers of hotdogs for kids, and how they can be prepared in a safe way.

Nikki said hotdogs are so dangerous because their shape is a ‘perfect plug’ for a child’s airway.

To reduce the risk of choking, Nikki said hotdogs should never be given to kids whole whole or sliced horizontally into discs (left). Instead, they should be sliced along their length so they won’t block the child’s airway (right)

‘This is the food that causes more choking deaths than any other food,’ the mum said.

‘If you were to design a perfect plug for a childs airway you couldn’t do much better than a hotdog,’ she said, quoting Gary Smith from the Center of Injury Research.

However, Nikki explained that the risk of choking can be reduced by preparing the food in a specific way. 

To reduce the risk of choking, Nikki said hotdogs should never be given to kids whole or sliced horizontally into discs.

Instead, they should be sliced along their length so they won’t block the child’s airway.

Her followers were very grateful for the tips.

‘Wow, I never thought about it! So smart,’ one woman said. 

The paramedic previously revealed another dangerous food for babies and kids.

Nikki said rounded food like grapes are dangerous as they are also the exact size of a childs esophagus and can fully block the airway. 

She explained that the risk can be mitigated by modifying their shape, for example by quartering or squashing grapes.

Nikki previously issued a warning against small rounded foods which she says are high risk choking food for kids. The paramedic recommends modifying foods like grapes or blueberries by quartering them or squashing them

Nikki uploaded a video demonstrating how similar small rounded foods are in shape and size to a child’s esophagus.

‘Not all foods were created equal. Some foods pose a higher choking risk than others. Round foods are a high risk choking food and this is why,’ she captioned her informative video.

The paramedic said that rounds foods can fit perfectly in a child’s esophagus and completely block the airways.

The solution is to modify the shape of the food, and it can be modified by quartering or squashing flat.

‘Prevention is key,’ Nikki said, explaining that even if the modified fruit were to get stuck in a child’s airway there is still space for oxygen to get to the lungs.

‘If your little one does choke, and has their airway completely blocked off, you should perform choking first aid immediately.’