Choking & The Heimlich Maneuver
Facts:
·
More than 2,800 people die each
year from choking; many of them are children.
·
Two-thirds of the children who
choked to death during a 20-year period were 3 years old or younger.
·
Nearly 70 percent of choking
deaths among children age 3 and under were caused by toys and other products
made for children.
·
The most common cause of
non-fatal choking incidents is food.
·
Nearly 70 percent of choking
cases in the emergency rooms were caused by foods such as hotdogs, nuts, and
vegetable and fruit pieces.
·
Keep the following items away
from infants and young children: balloons, coins, marbles, toys with small
parts, toys that can be compressed to fit entirely into a child's mouth, small
balls, pen or marker caps, button-type batteries.
·
Before a child begins to crawl,
get down on his level and look for dangerous items.
If you have older children, pay extra attention to their toys and be sure
your younger child can't get into them.
·
Keep the following foods from
children until 4 years of age: hot dogs, nuts and seeds, chunks of meat or
cheese, whole grapes, hard, gooey, or sticky candy, popcorn, chunks of peanut
butter, raw vegetables, chewing gum.
·
Insist that children eat at the
table, or at least while sitting down. They
should never run, walk, play or lie down with food in their mouths.
The Heimlich Maneuver for Choking
Courtesy:
The Heimlich Institute
A
choking victim can't speak or breathe and needs your help immediately.
Follow these steps to help a choking victim:
·
From behind, wrap your arms
around the victim's waist.
·
Make a fist and place the thumb
side of your fist against the victim's upper abdomen, below the ribcage and
above the navel.
·
Grasp your fist with your other
hand and press into their upper abdomen with a quick upward thrust.
Do not squeeze the ribcage; confine the force of the thrust to your
hands. Repeat until object is
expelled.
UNCONSCIOUS VICTIM, OR WHEN RESCUER
CAN'T REACH AROUND VICTIM:
·
Place the victim on back.
·
Facing the victim, kneel
astride the victim's hips.
·
With one of your hands on top
of the other, place the heel of your bottom hand on the upper abdomen below the
rib cage and above the navel.
·
Use your body weight to press
into the victim's upper abdomen with a quick upward thrust.
Repeat until object is expelled.
·
If the Victim has not
recovered, proceed with CPR.
The Victim should see a physician immediately after
rescue.
Don't slap the victim's back.
(This could make matters worse.)
When you choke, you can't speak or breathe and you need
help immediately. Follow these
steps to save yourself from choking:
·
Make a fist and place the thumb side of your fist
against your upper abdomen, below the ribcage and above the navel.
·
Grasp your fist with your other
hand and press into your upper abdomen with a quick upward thrust.
·
Repeat until object is
expelled.
·
Alternatively, you can lean
over a fixed horizontal object (table edge, chair, railing) and press your upper
abdomen against the edge to produce a quick upward thrust.
Repeat until object is expelled.
See a physician immediately after rescue.
The
Heimlich Maneuver on Infants
A choking victim can't speak or breathe and needs your
help immediately. Follow these
steps to help a choking infant:
·
Lay the child down, face up, on a firm surface and
kneel or stand at the victim's feet, or hold infant on your lap facing away from
you.
·
Place the middle and index
fingers of both your hands below his rib cage and above his navel.
·
Press into the victim's upper
abdomen with a quick upward thrust; do not squeeze the rib cage.
Be very gentle. Repeat until object is expelled.
If the
Victim has not recovered, proceed with CPR.
The Victim should see a physician immediately after rescue.
Don't slap the victim's back. (This could make matters worse.)