Toddler Suddenly Choking on Everything

Hi,
My daughter did this at about 18 months. She would start making the awful choking sound, and I would jump up and say "Are you ok?" and she'd be fine. I finally realized that she was just doing it for attention. What I did, and this is just me, was when she made the noise I would calmly watch, trying not to let my panic show, to see if she was, in fact, choking. And she NEVER was. She doesn't do it now, b/c I don't react so much. And I had to remember, if she was truly choking, she wouldn't be able to make a noise or anything. It's scary, I know. Good luck!

My son has enlarged tonsils and adenoids and we have choking (or more like gagging) issues. He's 8 now and still has trouble with certain food, especially noodles. My son's dentist says that because of his enlarged adenoids he has an extremely sensitive gag reflex, hence, he feels like he is choking when food touches the back of his mouth, but actually it is that gag reflex kicking in, not actually food lodged in his throat. Second guess, is her nose stuffy? That could also give her the sensation of choking when she eats, especially if she has some drainage. I don't want to make you scared or paranoid but I would like to also suggest that you brush up on the Heimlich maneuver for toddlers just in case. I'm sure you could find instructions online or have your daughter's doctor walk you through it at her next appointment.

One of my twin girls started doing that for a while but she got over it. I don't know why she was stuffing food because she has never gone hungry. she still crams food and i tell her not to and she stops but she only chokes very rarely. The gag reflex at your girls age is very active for their protection. don't worry it will pass sorry noone has answered you before there isn't much activity on weekends where do you live? gail good

My daughter is going on 5 and will still choke when she gets in a hurry to eat. We had choking issues when she was younger. She also had a reflux problem. Have you noticed any signs that she could be having some reflux? That could be choking her. Our daughter has a very sensitive gag reflex, so we're constantly reminding her to chew everything really well and take small bites.

Interesting...maybe some people just have more sensitive gag reflexes. I know I do. I occasionally feel like I am choking if I eat too fast, and I'm an adult! And I can't swallow pills because I think I will gag or choke on them even though I know I wouldn't (I guess it's a mental thing) and I gag every time I brush my tongue when I'm brushing my teeth. I never had any tonsil or adenoid problems that I knew about though. I would suggest having a dr. look at his tonsils or adenoids (whatever those are, I don't know!) just to be sure, since you had those problems when you were a kid.

Hi B.,

I'd go with my gut on this one and have her checked out by a doctor. Better to be safe. While it is possible that something is wrong there's a big possibility that the choking response is one out of fear due to her memory of the other episodes.

Good luck.

W. Q
mother of two (15 and 28)
nana of three (5, 22 months, and due in Feb)

Hi. I know it's been years but any chance you can tell me what came about of this choking situation? I have a 3 year old that chokes about once every 6 months but hers is a full airway obstruction and I have to do Heimlich. It's horrifying. The docs want me to get a barium swallow study done for her but I've noticed snoring lately and I'm wondering now if it could be adenoids. This started when she was about 6-8 months old though. I had to do back blows. Ugh scariestvthing. I dread meal times. Any help is much appreciated!!!