A Mom Has an Important Warning About Fidget Spinners After Her Daughter Choked on One
Fidget Spinners are all the rage these days. The spinning devices, which are intended to help people with attention issues to focus, have taken elementary schools by storm. Many teachers ban them from classrooms because they are a distraction, but it looks like they also can be a choking hazard. A Texas mom is sharing her daughter’s scary experience getting part of a fidget spinner lodged in her throat in the hopes that other parents can learn about the potential hazards of these toys.
Kelly Joniec was driving home from a swim meet when she heard her daughter, Britton, make an “odd retching noise,” from the backseat. She looked back to see her daughter panicking, pointing to her throat while her face turned red. After pulling over, Joniec attempted the Heimlich maneuver but it didn’t work. Her daughter was able to speak and managed to tell her mom that she’d put part of her fidget spinner in her mouth to clean it and had accidentally swallowed it.
After the doctors at a nearby urgent care couldn’t determine where the fidget spinner piece had lodged itself, Britton was taken via ambulance to Texas Children’s Hospital. There, an x-ray showed the fidget spinner’s bushing was lodged in Britton’s esophagus.
Because of the location of the bushing, it could only be removed via surgery. Britton had to be placed under general anesthesia and the bushing was removed endoscopically. Joniec said in her post that they had a “positive outcome,” so here’s hoping that her daughter will recover completely.
Joniec is sharing her experience as a cautionary tale for parents. “Fidget spinners are the current craze so they are widely distributed. Kids of all ages may be getting them, but not all spinners come with age-appropriate warnings,” she wrote. “The bushings pop out easily, so if you have young kids (under 8 yrs old) keep in mind that these present a potential choking hazard.”
So parents, keep an eye on your kids when they’re playing with their spinners, and feel free to use my mom’s favorite admonishment:
You’re not a cat, you don’t use your mouth to clean things.
(Image: iStock / ThamKC)
