4-Year-Old Ends Up In Hospital After Accidentally Swallowing Wire Brush Bristles

Summer is the perfect time to get together with friends and family and fire up the grill, but grilling comes with some unexpected dangers, including hazards from barbecue brushes.

Jenna Kuchik, a mother from Alberta, posted a warning about metal barbecue brushes on Facebook after rushing to the hospital when her 4-year-old son Ollie said there was something stuck and hurting his throat after eating grilled chicken.

Her fiancé, Matt, inspected the other chicken they had grilled and found a wire bristle in it.

"X-ray confirmed a few hours later that there was indeed a metal bbq brush bristle in my little boy's throat," Kuchik wrote. "Throughout the 2 hours at the hospital Ollie couldn't swallow and kept gagging and spitting."

According to a 2016 study published in the journal Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, there have been more than 1,600 injuries related to wire bristle brushes reported to emergency rooms since 2002.

So when you're grilling throughout the season, take caution and be sure to use the products properly and inspect grilled food prior to eating.

To read about how to clean your grill without a grill brush, click here.