Pieces of glass often turn out to be in the drink, if you do not be careful when opening the bottles with a corkscrew. Sometimes in the store there is a bottle with marriage, in which there are small pieces of glass at the bottom. Young children can swallow a piece of broken glass from a Christmas tree toy. How risky is this for life? People sometimes accidentally swallow pieces of glass. This material is extremely strong and will not be digested in the stomach. In addition, the fragments have dangerous pointed edges. What happens if you swallow a small piece of glass? How to proceed: rush to the hospital or try home methods?
Features of the structure of the esophagus
The gastrointestinal tract is a long, flexible muscle tube. If a person swallows food, the muscles contract and push the food further. Non-digestible edible substances and inedible objects pass through the tract unchanged.
The artificial origin of the substance (iron, glass, plastic) does not change in the intestinal tract, so swallowing these objects is risky.
What happens if you eat glass?
The risk of foreign bodies entering the body is not excluded. What happens if you swallow a small piece of glass? All danger depends on its shape and volume. Sharp pieces of glass can cause damage to organs. What happens if you eat a piece of glass with pointed ends? Slight tissue puncture and slight bleeding in the intestinal tract may occur. Blood can be found in fecal analysis.
But what happens if you swallow a small piece of glass with food? As soon as food is swallowed, it quickly passes through the esophagus into the stomach. In a narrow section of the stomach there is a way out, the pylorus. Too large pieces cannot exit through it. They remain in the stomach. The doctor is able to remove pieces through the mouth with a flexible device - an endoscope. Anything past the gatekeeper is unlikely to cause problems.
What happens if you swallow a small piece of glass? It is more dangerous to swallow small pieces with sharp ends. They can cut through tissues and provoke an infection.
Symptoms of swallowing an unsafe item
What happens if you swallow a small piece of glass with water, because the oral cavity and human tongue are very sensitive? Usually a person manages to identify foreign bodies before swallowing.
However, children sometimes try different things and drink to taste and can swallow unwanted objects. Father and mother can immediately find out that their child has absorbed a health hazardous item. A number of signs indicate that the child swallowed a small piece of glass.
Among them:
- vomiting
- salivation;
- stomach ache;
- difficulty swallowing;
- change of stool;
- strange sounds in the stomach.
For any of these signs, the child should immediately show the doctor or call an ambulance. Small pieces from bottles and glasses are not easy to spot on x-rays. If there is no severe acute pain, doctors expect 24 hours for the fragments to come out completely on their own.
What is the threat to children?
Health hazards if a child swallows a splinter. What happens if you swallow a small piece of glass? Little researchers are curious, and the best way to analyze surrounding objects is to taste them. Often the subject of study are glass objects. In this case, you need to know what is the risk of swallowing the glass. The result of the situation depends on the characteristics, shape and surface of the element. A child can eat a piece of glass. So what happens if you swallow a piece of glass from a glass? It gets stuck in the esophagus and can damage it. If the object is even in shape (for example, balls), you can consider yourself lucky. The danger comes down to a regular stomach jam, and damage can be ruled out. No need to worry, because there are a number of methods with which you can free yourself from a stuck object. The most important thing is to act swiftly, especially if the situation has developed in full view of the parents.
What if the baby ate a splinter?
What if I swallowed a small piece of glass? If a child ate glass, the most important thing is to remain calm and not to panic. A similar situation can happen to everyone, therefore it is important to act swiftly and clearly.
Firstly, you can carefully remove the visible part of the item yourself, and secondly, you must call an ambulance. It is not necessary to let everything drift, as a piece falling into the body can provoke serious consequences. Small pieces can be removed directly, but even they can touch the internal organs. If a piece is large, it may become stuck in the stomach for a long time. In this case, an operation cannot be dispensed with.
Immediate action when glass enters the stomach
In that case, if a person immediately noticed the ingestion of glass, then it is most correct to provoke vomiting. A piece will be rapidly removed from the body with food and mucus, without causing much damage. If this happens to the child, then vomiting must be induced artificially, pressing on the root of the tongue.
After that, even making sure that the fragment came out, you need to contact the doctor, describing the situation. He will give advice for subsequent actions and prescribe a study that will detect defects in the internal organs, if any.
Urgent Activities:
- In the event that the glass did not come out with vomiting, it is necessary to immediately call an ambulance, outlining the situation, and prepare for hospitalization.
- In the event that it took more than 2 hours, the parts could have time to move into the intestinal tract and worsen the situation. Then to decide what to do, it will only be a highly qualified doctor, who should be as clearly as possible about the size of the fragment and the time of the accident.
- An X-ray in such a situation is often ineffective, since the glass in its glimpses does not contrast.
- You should not count on the fact that the fragment is very small, and sit at home until it comes out naturally.
- The use of laxatives and enemas is also not recommended without medical research.
- If the fragment did not go immediately after vomiting, secondary efforts can be dangerous, therefore, it is preferable to call a doctor and wait for the arrival of an ambulance.
- A lot of activity in this period is also harmful, since each movement can provoke internal injuries.
Small pieces often actually leave the body naturally, without causing almost any inconvenience to their owner. However, you do not need to count on this, since ignoring in this case threatens with serious injuries and even death.
Recommendations
Young children often swallow glass by accident. In order to avoid the penetration of glass into the body, you should carefully monitor the child. It is not recommended to allow the use of glass objects for the game. Such items should be kept out of the reach of children. Parents are required to wean the child to keep various items in their mouth.
To prevent a child from accidentally getting on glass objects, the following rules should be observed:
- Do not forget fragile products in the field of view of the child;
- remove all broken decor items from the reach of children;
- if the glass object is broken - to protect the child, not letting him in the broken glass, and carefully collect everything;
- follow the child while walking on the street;
- Do not leave the baby alone for a long time;
- Do not feed from glassware.
Conclusion
Glass is a dangerous foreign object. It has the ability to cause sufficient serious injury.
Ingestion of the glass is fraught with wounds in the mouth and parts of the digestive tract. Consequently, it is necessary to be careful and, in case an emergency occurs, take urgent measures.