Why slicing grapes before serving to kids could save their lives

Parents warned to chop up grapes before serving them to children after a photo of a 5-year-old's X-ray goes viral.

The frightening image shared by blogger Angela Henderson on her Facebook page, Finlee and Me, shows a 5-year-old boy who was sent to the emergency room after following a grape whole.

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Fortunately, the grape didn't block the child's entire airway, which meant he was still able to breath -- but the fruit was lodged far enough in his throat that doctors were forced to operate in order to remove it.

Now, parents and caregivers everywhere are being urged to slice grapes when preparing the popular fruit for little kids.

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In a recent case report released by the Archives of Disease in Childhood, whole grapes were listed among hot dogs and sweets as foods most likely to be choked on.

"There is general awareness of the need to supervise young children when they are eating and to get small solid objects, and some foods such as nuts, promptly out of the mouths of small children,"
author Amy J. Lumsden wrote in the study.

"But knowledge of the dangers posed by grapes and other similar foods is not widespread," Lumsden added.