Unable to reach hospital on time, boy chokes to death
The traffic menace during festivities has claimed yet another life. This time of a four-year-old Mumbai boy who couldn't reach hospital on time, thanks to the traffic jams caused by Durga processions. Piyush Khushwaha accidentally swallowed a toy that he got free with a packet of chips. He choked to death after his parents failed to provide him timely medical assistance.
According to doctors, immediate paramedic assistance is needed when there is a complete obstruction of the airway (as in Piyush's case). But it took the Khushwahas 20 minutes to take Piyush to the nearest nursing home. They couldn't find an autorickshaw owing to the Durga procession. "I carried him in my arms and ran through the traffic," Piyush's father Birju reportedly said.
Piyush's parents didn't lose faith after the doctors at the first nursing home said they couldn't do much. They took him to two bigger hospitals. "The doctors, after checking him, referred us to Sanjivani Hospital. Doctors there told us he wasn't breathing. But we had not lost our hope and took him to Shatabdi Hospital," Birju said. At Shatabdi Hospital, doctors declared Piyush dead.
If the child can breathe and make noise, let her try to cough out the toy. Do not try home remedies if she is finding it difficult to breathe. Take her to a doctor or a trained paramedic immediately. Time is of utmost importance here.
