What is aspiration?
Aspiration in children is a serious and common problem. It usually presents with an initial episode of choking with subsequent respiratory symptoms. Aspiration occurs whenever secretions, solid food or liquids “go down the wrong pipe” and enter the airway and lungs. Aspirating material into the lungs can lead to respiratory problems, such as pneumonia. While there may be observable signs that accompany aspiration events, such as coughing, choking, eye reddening during eating, or a gurgly vocal quality after swallowing, infants and children can also aspirate “silently,” or with no observable symptoms. If your child is found to be aspirating, follow up therapy is recommended to work with you and your child to develop a feeding/swallowing program based on your child’s unique needs. Signs and risks for aspiration • Any child with a history of recurrent pneumonia or chronic respiratory illness. • Any child with neuromuscular disorders, both structural and functional (i.e., cerebral palsy, e
To aspirate is to withdraw fluid with a syringe. More specifically, after inserting the needle, pulling back on the plunger of the syringe for a few seconds to see if the needle is in a blood vessel. Rarely, this will be the case and a bit of blood will fill the syringe. If this happens the needle should be removed, replaced with a new one, and another injection site should be used. And yes, if there is a little blood in your syringe, it is ok to inject it along with your steroid once you have found a different spot……….it’s your own blood isn’t it? When aspirating, nothing should come back into the syringe if you are in the right spot. Pulling back on the plunger will create a vacuum in your syringe. The oil cannot expand to fill that space, but any air bubbles in your syringe will. You may notice the tiny bubbles getting bigger and bigger as you pull back. They will return to normal size as you release the plunger. If the air bubbles do not disappear upon releasing the plunger,
Aspiration occurs whenever secretions, solid food or liquids “go down the wrong tube” and enter the airway and lungs. Aspirating material into the lungs can lead to respiratory problems, such as pneumonia. While there may be observable signs that accompany aspiration events, such as coughing, choking or eye-reddening during eating, or a gurgly vocal quality after swallowing, infants and children can also aspirate “silently,” or with no observable symptoms.
