Aug 26, 2007 8
Myth: Tongue swallowing
Yesterday I was watching Sevilla play Getafe in the opening round of the Spanish League when Sevilla defender Antonio Puerta collapsed on the pitch, unconscious. Teammates rushed to his side and were trying to pry his mouth open to prevent him from swallowing his tongue. The team doctor slapped his teammates away but then the announcer talked endlessly about people swallowing their tongues. Today, when trying to check on his condition (he’s in intensive care but there are no real details of what’s going on) I kept seeing over and over again that he was in danger of swallowing his tongue.
I am not a doctor, but my wife is. I have double checked with her to assure medical accuracy before making this statement. One cannot swallow their tongue. Got that? It ain’t possible so work on more immediate needs of the unconscious person than trying to pry open their mouths. I am not blaming Puerta’s teammates, we all hope to have equally caring friends and teammates in our lives and kudos to them for noticing how serious the situation was. I do blame the lazy folks who are continuing to repeat this myth though.
OK, One more time. One cannot swallow their tongue.
Get better Antonio – we’re pulling for you!
Update: Sadly Antonio Puerta died this afternoon.