Emergency 101: Choking for small children - How to treat them

Since we already covered the cause and remedy of choking on my previous blog of Emergency 101. In this blog, we will cover how to treat choking for small children:

First-Aid instructions:

1. Kneel next to the child, who should be lying on his or her back.

2. Position the heel of one hand on the child's abdomen between the navel and the breastbone. Deliver five thrusts inward and toward the body.

3. If this doesn't work, open the mouth and perform tongue-jaw lift and finger sweep to try to remove the foreign body. (Please note that you can perform the latter if you can see the object. If you try to remove an object you can't see, you may only push it in more tightly.)

4. If the child doesn't begin to breath after the object has been removed, use the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation).

5. Call for assistance, and repeat these steps until the object is dislodge and the child is breathing normally or until help arrives.

For infants:

1. Supporting the head and neck with one hand, straddle infant face down, head lower than trunk, over your forearm, supported on your thigh.

2. Deliver four back blows, with the heel of the hand between the infant's shoulder blades.

3. If this doesn't work, turn the baby over and, using two fingers, give four quick upward thrusts to the chest.

4. If unsuccessful, open the infant's mouth and gently perform tongue-jaw lift and finger sweep to try to remove the foreign body. (Please note that you can perform the latter if you can see the object. If you try to remove an object you can't see, you may only push it in more tightly.)

5. If the baby doesn't begin to breath after the object has been removed, use the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation).

6. Call for assistance, and repeat these steps until the object is dislodge and the baby is breathing normally or until help arrives.

References:

Take Car of Yourself by James Fries, M.D. and Donald Vickery, M.D.

University of Oklahoma Police Department images: http://www.ou.edu/oupd/