The season has arrived "Santol" a popular sweet and sour fruit, but do not overlook the "danger from santol seeds" which doctors warn about every year. Accidentally swallowing them risks intestinal blockage and perforation, which can be life-threatening.
As the season of santol arrives, this summer-to-early-rainy-season fruit and popular dishes like stuffed santol, preserved santol, or santol in syrup become favorites for many. The white cottony flesh around the seeds is sweet and smooth, tempting to chew. However, the greatest caution, highlighted by annual cautionary tales, concerns the danger posed by santol seeds.
Santol seeds differ from other fruits in that they have a smooth, soft outer coating in the mouth, making them easy to accidentally swallow. Once in the digestive system, the white cottony flesh is completely digested, leaving only the hard seed, which is large, smooth, but sharply pointed at both ends. Human stomach acid and digestive enzymes cannot break down these rock-hard seeds.
Medical statistics fromthe Ministry of Public Healthshow that each year, many patients, especially elderly people, undergo emergency gastrointestinal surgery due to swallowing santol seeds. Some cases are severe and fatal because medical help was sought too late.
Swallowing santol seeds exposes the body to two main serious risks:
1. Santol seed lodged in the throat and blocking the airway often occurs while chewing when the slippery seed slips down and gets stuck near the windpipe or base of the tongue, suddenly obstructing breathing. This causes oxygen deprivation and a bluish face, similar to choking on any foreign object, requiring immediate assistance.
2. Santol seed blocking the intestine and piercing the esophagus or intestine. If the seed passes the stomach, its sharp points can puncture the walls of the small and large intestines, which are narrow and winding. This causes wounds, inflammation, infection, abscesses, and can lead to intestinal perforation. Food and feces then leak into the abdominal cavity, causing bloodstream infections that can be fatal.
The highest risk group for accidentally swallowing seeds and developing intestinal perforation includes elderly people whose chewing ability is reduced, those with poor eyesight or wearing dentures that reduce oral sensation, and young children who cannot distinguish what should be swallowed or spat out.
Warning signs after swallowing santol seeds include:
If these symptoms occur within 1-7 days after eating santol, do not take laxatives or purgatives as they can worsen intestinal contractions, causing the seed to pierce further. Immediate hospital treatment for X-rays and urgent surgery is necessary.
If you see someone choking on a santol seed with airway obstruction (unable to speak, cannot cough, clutching the throat), immediately perform the Heimlich Maneuver.
Note: If the patient loses consciousness, lay them on their back, perform CPR, and call emergency hotline 1669 immediately.
Next time you eat santol, be extra cautious: always spit out the seeds before swallowing or choose dishes where the seeds have been sliced out by the chef to safely enjoy the vitamin C and antioxidants in santol without worry.