Emergency 101: Choking

As mentioned on first emergency 101 blog, this is another situation that everybody should be aware of. One should have an idea what to do when he/she encounter such situation.

Choking on a foreign object, usually food, is all too common. The mot frequent setting for choking in adults is evening meal, often in a restaurant or at a party. There are several ways that increases the risk of choking. If the victim is likely to have been drinking alcoholic beverages, or likely distracted from eating by conversation or entertainment, or the time that solid meats such as steak (mostly the culprits) are eaten freely, these are ways that increases the risk of choking.

On children, the most likely ways to choke are either sticking a much wider variety of objects into their mouth (i.e. small toys, etc) or eating their favorite foods like hotdogs, hard candies, grapes and even peanuts.

Common treatment

Choking is an emergency situation wherein anybody can do a vital role in doing treatment before emergency medical services arrives. Most of the cases, the victim's fate will be decided by the time such help can respond. Either someone knowledgeable will step forward and relieves the choking, or there's a big chance the victim won't survive.

You can be that knowledgeable someone. The most effective way to relieve choking is with abdominal-thrust or the Heimlich maneuver. Pushing on the lungs from the below rapidly raises the air pressure inside the lungs and behind the foreign object that is causing the choking. This results in the forceful expulsion of the object from the throat back to the mouth. If its done properly, it will not pose great risk of doing harm.

Instructions:

   1. Position yourself behind the choking victim and reach your arms around his/her waist. Place your fist, thumb side in, just above the person's navel and grab the fist tightly with your other hand.

   2. Pull your fist abruptly upward and inward to increase airway pressure behind the obstructing object and force it from the windpipe.

   3. Repeat the Heimlich maneuver until the foreign body is expelled.