Medical Questions » First Aid Questions » Question No. 401
| Question: | I saw someone choke to death on TV after eating, and everyone in this show pretended to panic, and he died. How do you help a person who is choking? |
| Answer: | Choking occurs when a foreign body gets stuck in the airway so that breathing is obstructed. It is vital to remove the object immediately. In severe cases the victim cannot breathe at all, and if left untreated will die. Adults may choke on food or broken false teeth; children may choke on bits of toys they put in their mouth or foods such as peanuts or chewing gum.
When choking occurs, the victim may have a violent fit of coughing and the face and neck will become deep red, turning to purple. They will make a superhuman effort to breathe, and if unsuccessful will claw the air and clutch at the throat before turning blue in the face and collapsing.
Often the object will be dislodged by the coughing. If not, try to remove it with your finger—but be extremely careful not to push it down further. If that is unsuccessful, two or three sharp blows between the shoulderblades may clear it. Make sure the person is in a position in which the object can fall out easily— eg. an adult should sit and lean forward. If the victim is lying down, turn them gently to one side.
If this fails, there are several ways in which you may proceed:
1. Place your arms around the victim' s chest from behind, with your clenched fists over the breast bone. As suddenly and as hard as you can, push on the breast bone and squeeze the chest (Heimlich manoeuvre).
2. Lie the patient in the coma position on their side on the floor, give several sharp blows between the shoulder blades, and then if necessary, give several firm quick pushes on the side of the chest wall below the armpit.
3. Place the victim on a table so that they are hanging over the edge from the waist up, with rhe top of their head on the floor. Try the chest compression again so that it is aided by gravity.
Hopefully one of these methods will force the remaining air out of the lungs and up the windpipe so that the obstruction will be dislodged sufficiently for the victim to cough it up and out. If you are much bigger and stronger than the victim, try not to break too many ribs!
If all these measutcs fail and the victim is unconscious, lie them on their back and tilt the head backwards to maximise the airway. Sit astride the victim and place the heel of your hand on the upper abdomen just above the navel. Cover it with the heel of your other hand. Give a sharp downward and forward thrust towards the victim' s head. Give up to four thrusts if necessary. If the victim does not splutter and start breathing, start mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
As the victim starts breathing normally, place them on their side and get medical help. It is especially important to tell the doctor if chest compression has been used, so that the internal organs can be checked.
If all efforts to dislodge the object fail, you will have to blow air past it by using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until medical help is obtained.
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