Two infants in Faridabad narrowly survived after inhaling food particles that blocked their lungs, with doctors warning parents about hidden choking risks.
Faridabad, January 18, 2026:
What began as an ordinary winter day turned into a race against time for two families in Faridabad after their infants accidentally inhaled food particles, leading to life-threatening respiratory emergencies. Both children — aged one year and eight months — were rushed in critical condition to Amrita Hospital, where doctors say even a short delay could have proved fatal.
One-year-old treated after week-long breathing distress
The first child, aged one year and three months, had been suffering from persistent cough and breathing difficulty for nearly a week and was receiving treatment elsewhere. His condition worsened, and by the time he arrived at Amrita Hospital, his oxygen levels had dropped dangerously low.
After overnight stabilisation in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU), doctors performed an emergency bronchoscopy. They discovered a peanut completely blocking the child’s right main airway, cutting off air supply to the entire lung.
“Peanuts swell when they come in contact with moisture inside the airway,” said Dr Sourabh Pahuja. “In this case, the lung was not receiving air at all. Any further delay could have led to lung collapse or fatal oxygen failure.”
The peanut was removed successfully, and the child’s oxygen levels improved within hours. He was discharged the next day.
Eight-month-old rushed in with oxygen at 40%
Just hours later, an even more critical case arrived. An eight-month-old baby was brought in with oxygen saturation of just 40 per cent — a level doctors described as immediately life-threatening. Medical scans revealed a foreign object lodged deep inside the left lung, believed to have been present for several days.
With no time to spare, doctors took the infant straight to surgery. When standard tools failed due to the baby’s tiny airway, the team used advanced cryotherapy to extract the organic material.
“The airway was swollen and damaged because the object had been inside for days,” Dr Pahuja said. The baby required two to three days of intensive monitoring before stabilising.
Doctors issue strong warning to parents
Dr Maninder Singh Dhaliwal said foreign body aspiration is one of the most complex paediatric emergencies. “These children arrive with almost no oxygen reserve. There is absolutely no margin for error,” he said.
Doctors warned parents never to give infants small, hard foods such as peanuts or cashews, to supervise all feeding, and to seek immediate medical help if coughing or breathing difficulty persists after meals.
“This is a preventable tragedy,” doctors stressed. “When a child cannot breathe, there is no second chance.”