What is ubiquitous‚ usually white‚ potentially hazardous to small children and probably found in most households?
It is the "bread tag"‚ the clip used to tie up bread packets.
Writing in the May edition of the South African Medical Journal‚ four specialist doctors say they have observed three cases of young children at Tygerberg Hospital who swallowed bread tags.
Describing the bread tag they write: "They appear harmless and most parents and indeed most doctors are probably unaware they are dangerous."
The doctors hope that publishing medical case histories of the children who swallowed these tags will "draw attention of the medical fraternity and indeed the public to the potential menace that these items represent".
"We agree with those who call for a complete elimination of bread tags and replacing them with a safer option‚" they write.
The doctors are ear nose and throat surgeons: Professor James Lock and Dr Ryan Karro‚ and paediatric pulmonolgists Dr Pierre Goussard and professor Robert Gie.
They say swallowing of a "foreign body"is one of the most common causes of accidental death for babies under age one. But even children up to three are at risk as they love to explore the environment orally.
The first case is a four-year-old girl who had swallowed the tag but luckily her mother witnessed her doing this. The second case was a 15 month-old-boy who had been treated for five days before doctors worked out what was wrong. He appeared "deceptively well". The third was eight month girl whose grandmother saw the tag in her mouth but before she could stop her‚ the child swallowed it.
The specialists urge parents to take the tags off the bread straight away and possibly save them for a charity such as bread for wheelchairs that recycle them. About 200kg or ten black bags of the tags raises enough money for one wheelchair.
A doctor who works at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital said that children often swallowed small items and required surgery‚ coins being among the most common.
Bread tags dangerous‚ warn doctors
It is the "bread tag"‚ the clip used to tie up bread packets.
Writing in the May edition of the South African Medical Journal‚ four specialist doctors say they have observed three cases of young children at Tygerberg Hospital who swallowed bread tags.
Describing the bread tag they write: "They appear harmless and most parents and indeed most doctors are probably unaware they are dangerous."
The doctors hope that publishing medical case histories of the children who swallowed these tags will "draw attention of the medical fraternity and indeed the public to the potential menace that these items represent".
"We agree with those who call for a complete elimination of bread tags and replacing them with a safer option‚" they write.
The doctors are ear nose and throat surgeons: Professor James Lock and Dr Ryan Karro‚ and paediatric pulmonolgists Dr Pierre Goussard and professor Robert Gie.
They say swallowing of a "foreign body"is one of the most common causes of accidental death for babies under age one. But even children up to three are at risk as they love to explore the environment orally.
The first case is a four-year-old girl who had swallowed the tag but luckily her mother witnessed her doing this. The second case was a 15 month-old-boy who had been treated for five days before doctors worked out what was wrong. He appeared "deceptively well". The third was eight month girl whose grandmother saw the tag in her mouth but before she could stop her‚ the child swallowed it.
The specialists urge parents to take the tags off the bread straight away and possibly save them for a charity such as bread for wheelchairs that recycle them. About 200kg or ten black bags of the tags raises enough money for one wheelchair.
A doctor who works at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital said that children often swallowed small items and required surgery‚ coins being among the most common.
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