Why does my child always choke when drinking water?

The health of the baby is an issue that parents are very concerned about. Most babies need careful care from their parents to ensure the normal development of their bodies, especially eating and drinking, which require help from adults. However, some children may have problems when eating. For example, some babies always choke when drinking water, which has some impact on their lives. Let’s take a look at why children always choke when drinking water?

The fundamental reason why babies are prone to choking is that they are still young and their swallowing movements are not well coordinated, so they are easily choked. Everyone's swallowing action seems simple, but it is actually very complicated. It requires the coordination of the muscles of the mouth, tongue, throat and breathing to complete. Any slight confusion will affect swallowing. The swallowing function of infants and young children has not yet fully developed, so their swallowing movements are not as flexible and fast as those of adults, and they are more likely to make mistakes. This is also a learning process for him. As parents, you don’t need to worry too much. Everything will be fine when he grows up. The baby's swallowing function is not fully developed, so it is easy for him to choke when drinking water.

New mothers often wonder why babies choke easily when drinking water, but not easily when drinking milk or rice cereal?

The viscosity of breast milk is higher than that of water and it flows more slowly in the oropharynx, making the oropharyngeal muscles of infants and young children better able to control the movement of milk from the front to the back of the mouth. However, after entering the mouth, clean water will automatically and quickly flow to the posterior pharynx and spread out immediately. When the muscles at the tracheal opening are unable to block it in time, it will flow into the trachea and cause choking; especially when drinking cold water, because cold water will paralyze the mucous membrane of the oropharynx, making its coordinated movements more inflexible.

In addition, when there are lesions in the baby's oropharynx, it will also affect normal swallowing movements.

If the baby chokes while drinking water, he should be laid prone on the adult's lap or bed, and his back should be patted hard to make him cough it out. If your baby vomits due to coughing, you should quickly turn his face to one side to prevent the vomit from flowing back into the throat and trachea. Then wrap a handkerchief around your finger and put it into the mouth and even the throat to quickly clean out the vomited, spilled milk and food to keep the baby's respiratory tract smooth. Then use a small cotton swab to clean the baby's nostrils to avoid respiratory blockage.