Emergency First Aid Series: Choking

foreign [Music] our ability to function depends upon an ingenious system of gathering oxygen and distributing it throughout the body air enters the body through the mouth and nose travels down the windpipe or trachea into the lungs food also enters by the mouth but travels instead into the esophagus which transports it to the stomach at the intersection of the esophagus and windpipe is the epiglottis this is a kind of valve which is open when air is entering or leaving the body during eating however it closes down in order to prevent food from accidentally entering the windpipe hi what kind of do you for folks uh how about a couple hot dogs all the way yeah you got it you like a lot of relish on that lady sure do you want anything else no what do you say we see next after question oh how about the monkey house we haven't gone there yet sounds good how about the birdhouse after that okay okay gotta see the seals all right something i understand i wonder if they have scales in the cage jumbo you're crazy no okay how much will that be that'll be two dollars even with tax huh fair enough what do you say we uh go outside with us oh okay okay let's go [Music] before we go see the monkeys why don't we go see the horses first oh okay okay what's this thing look we got the tylo what to do for the animals on the farm oh there's the horse he's oh yeah my horse oh i always wanted one wise little girl did you get it no come on i haven't been to the zoo since the last time i was in the zoo you're a steady ball you didn't even know the silence know i don't you just started choking she's choking i'll call 9-1-1 an estimated 3 000 people a year die from choking death from choking can occur in as little as four minutes jenny choking occurs when food becomes caught underneath the epiglottis or presses down upon it this blocks the top of the trachea prevents breathing and causes asphyxiation when air can no longer reach or escape the lungs the first step in helping a choking victim is to make sure that they are in fact choking on food and not suffering from a heart attack or a stroke choking victims can't breathe cough or speak their skin may begin to turn blue and they may clutch at their throat in fact placing a hand on the throat like this is the accepted signal to give if you're choking and once you know for sure that the victim is choking you have to act fast and act quickly while he or she is still conscious oh bob would you give me a hand help me demonstrate this there are two basic steps in the obstructed airway maneuver now the first is a series of four sharp blows delivered quickly with the hand to the middle of the back between the shoulder blades that's helpful if the victim's head is lowered this is immediately followed by the abdominal thrust this is done by wrapping your arms around the victim taking your fist like this and thrusting into the upper part of the abdomen like this abdominal thrust exerts pressure against the diaphragm this pushes the diaphragm against the lungs and forces reserve air up the resulting pressure forces the obstruction out of the mouth okay let's go through it again bob would you turn around please to do the back blows stand beside and slightly behind the victim like this place one hand on his chest or shoulder for support and tilt the upper part of his body forward using the heel of your hand deliver four quick sharp blows to the middle of the back and between the shoulder blades like this if the food or obstruction is forced out stop the blows now we'll demonstrate the abdominal thrust bob would you open your shirt please stand behind the victim and wrap your arms around his waist like this next place the thumb side of your fist against his abdomen palms down just above the navel and below the ribs grab your fist with your other hand and press it into his abdomen with a quick upward thrust like this do the procedure four times remember it's not a punch or a hug and always place the hands just above the navel like this now although we use a person for instructional purposes avoid practicing the thrust on another person now this procedure is done exactly the same whether the victim is sitting or standing if the victim is lying down the back blows are done like this bob roll the victim onto his side with his chest against your knees then deliver the back backflows the same way as if you were standing up to do the abdominal thrust straddle the victim with your shoulders directly over his abdomen the procedure should be done lying down if the victim is too heavy to lift or if the rescuer is an older or frail person the sequence is four back blows followed by four abdominal thrusts and should be continued until the obstruction is removed and the victim can breathe again thanks mom i don't know she's just jenny relax relax just come on jenny jenny just jenny i don't know she just started choking can you talk can you sleep [Music] [Music] remember it's four back blows followed by four abdominal thrusts in the case we just saw it happened on the second blow now these procedures can also be done on infants and very small children place the infant face down along your forearm and deliver the blows gently with your free hand similarly the abdominal thrust is done with the child face up and using two or three fingers to press into the abdomen with an older child the procedure is the same as with an adult the important thing to remember of course is to use less pressure now if you're alone and you become the victim of choking you can do the procedure on yourself [Music] you scared me i thought you was at the store getting some fish and stuff no i changed my mind but she was going to the lake this weekend oh you got hurt no i'm not playing john wayne or edward g robinson or humphrey bogart either i just happened to nearly rip my finger off at work that's all oh hi mr jenkins come on in pops oh no [Laughter] gun singing boy do i hate to see that oh you're good me too and i sure don't dare go on vacation i mean in my back's turn to do the procedure on yourself use your own fist like this another way to do it is to find a firm object such as the back of a chair the edge of a sink or a railing like this one lean forward and press your abdomen sharply against it how'd you do it all right all right mr safety supervisor go ahead and ride me if you want them but let me tell you something i can stick my hand into a machine whether you're at the shop or not oh [Applause] you should never give a choking victim any water or food like mashed potatoes or bread it's likely to get caught in his throat and though you shouldn't practice this procedure on a pregnant woman it should be used to save her life if she becomes a choking victim now in this case the procedure is four back blows followed by poor chest thrusts and repeat as long as necessary and finally no matter how much better the victim may feel afterwards he or she should see a doctor as soon as possible thank you very much keep that you sure you feel okay i'm fine thank you thanks again i'll call an [Music] ambulance want another hot dog now thank you very much any time love [Music] you