I’m not quite sure where this would fit, after all, we’d like to think that people should know better.
Baby boomers and older people may remember the pull tabs on drink cans. We used to pick up the edge of the tab, a circle usually, pull up and the tab would pull off. Most people would throw them away and then drink out of the can, but some
people would push the tab into the can or it some how ended up in there. The result was some people would end up swallowing the tab and choke on it. To counter this, the tab system was changed and the tab is no longer immediately removable.
The problem is though, sometimes the tab comes off anyway, deliberately or not, and choking is still happening. And, while choking on foreign objects is usually a problem reserved for babies and toddlers, this is happening to older children and teens.
Interestingly, these tabs are not easily noticeable on x-rays. According to a study just presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, of 19 cases where the tab was swallowed, only four were identified by x-ray.
So, be careful when swigging back those drinks.
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Image: PhotoXpress.com
