Paediatrician, Dr Niamh Lynch advises parents not to dismiss a common source of choking hazard amongst young children – and highlighted how quickly oxygen supply to the brain can be affected
A paediatrician has urged parents to be aware of a commonly overlooked choking peril – which she claims some mistakenly think isn’t a significant risk. Dr Niamh Lynch, a frequent children’s health adviser on TikTok, urged her audience to take heed of the potential danger ice cubes pose to children.
“Every year I say ice cubes are a choking hazard and every year people in the comments section get cross,” she began in a video. “They say, ‘Don’t be silly – ice melts’, but I bring to you the power of an experiment.”
To illustrate her point, Dr Lynch then demonstrated the risks using an ice cube and a plastic tube akin to the size of an adult’s windpipe. “If the child was choking and this was in their airway for 30 seconds, by now they’d be in real distress,” she noted. “And I can’t imagine any parents just standing there watching their child really distressed and choking, but saying, ‘Oh it’s okay – the ice is going to melt’.”
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Dr Lynch continued with her caution, noting that after another half-minute, any child with a fully blocked airway would likely lose consciousness. “The ice cube [at this point] is still big enough to be completely blocking their airway,” she pointed out. “I can’t imagine anyone just sitting there waiting for the ice to melt – it’s a terrifying situation for the parents and the child.”
And after two minutes, Dr Lynch stressed that that the ice cube would have only melted enough to be “small enough to let a little air through”. However, that’s still a worrying 120 seconds of oxygen deprivation for the brain.
She concluded by sternly reiterating: “Ice cubes are a choking hazard. There are lots of other safer ways to give your child ice or to cool them down – so please just, for your child’s safety, avoid the ice cubes.”
Dr Lynch’s clip quickly went viral, with more than 1.6 million tuning in to watch her advice in just 48 hours. One TikTok user’s response underscored the doctor’s cautionary tale as she recounted a terrifying experience from her youth. “When I was eight years old I had an ice cube in my mouth, breathed in and inhaled it,” she wrote.
“I remember so vividly I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t swallow it, it was properly lodged. My mum smacked my back, nothing.”
She went on to say: “Swung me around and did the Heimlich on me three times and it popped out and flew across the room. My mother saved my life that day, I hate to think what could have happened if she didn’t know the Heimlich. Unfortunately this occurrence later in life has given me a fear of swallowing/choking on food and been in therapy.”
In a similar vein, another person shared: “My sister literally saved my life, at 15 I bit down on a cube and half lodged in my throat. Thank God she acted quick and did the Heimlich manoeuvre. I still panic remembering how that felt to have my breath cut off.”
A third person recounted a terrifying personal experience on TikTok: “I myself when I was younger choked on an ice cube and freaked out. And when my sister was younger – about three or four – she choked on an ice cube. I was home with her and I freaked out, had to massage her throat and try to get it out and it was the most terrifying experience.”
Meanwhile, a fourth commenter commended Dr Lynch’s warning: “I’m SO GLAD I’ve seen this – I totally agree it a huge choking risk!”
The NHS has important advice on what to do if your child is choking. If you can see the object, try to remove it, but if it’s too difficult you could end up making it worse. If coughing isn’t helping, se back blows if the child is above 1 year old. If a child is under 1 year there is separate advice. If your child becomes unconscious, put them on a firm, flat surface, shout for help and call 999.