PEDIATRICS Vol. 75 No. 3 March 1985, pp. 615-616
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Balloons as a Cause of Suffocation

ITZHAK BROOK MD1

1 Naval Medical Research Institute, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD 20014

To the Editor.—

Accidents are the major cause of mortality in young children.1 I would like to highlight the danger of aspiration of a foreign body and suffocation that can occur in infants and toddlers following rupture of a balloon.

It was recently necessary to resuscitate a 2-year-old infant who suffocated after he had aspirated the distal portion of a balloon (Figure). The child bit the balloon and the force of the rupture blew the distal part of the balloon into the rear of his mouth.