Two toddlers choke on Tu Bishvat treats, rushed to hospital

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Two children in the Rehovot area - a four year old who choked on a piece of apple and a two year old on a whole pistachio nut - were rushed separately to Kaplan Medical Center on Tu Bishvat (the New Year of Trees) to have the foreign objects removed from their lungs. They both underwent surgery and were saved from death. Dr. Reuven Gertler, an ear-nose-and-throat specialist at the Rehovot hospital, said it was forbidden for any child under four to be near or be offered nuts and other small hard snacks, as their swallowing mechanism is not always able to prevent them from reaching the trachea. An unexplained sudden cough in small children is reason to suspect the presence of a foreign object, he added.