HOW TO SAVE A CHOKING VICTIM

It's very important to be absolutely certain that the victim is choking on food and not suffering from a heart attack, for example. You can be sure that he is choking on food if you look for these three symptoms. First, the victim of food choking cannot speak. You can check this symptom by asking him, "Can you talk?" If the obstruction is complete, he cannot breathe. If the obstruction is not complete, you may hear a wheezing sound. A heart attack victim, on the other hand, can breathe and may speak or complain of pain. The food choking victim cannot speak or breathe. Second, he turns blue. And third, he collapses. That is, he falls unconscious due to the lack of oxygen. The victim cannot speak, but he should not panic and run away from people who could help. He should use and people should recognize this simple hand gesture to communicate, "I am choking." However, you don't have to wait until all three symptoms appear before you use the maneuver that I'm going to teach you. Remain calm, but act immediately as soon as you recognize the first or second symptom. Do not wait until the victim collapses. Do not use mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. If you do so, you will realize that your breath is blocked from entering the lungs. Do not give the victim water to drink because he cannot swallow and the water will remain in the back of the throat. Sometimes it's possible to reach into the throat with your fingers and remove an obstructing piece of food. However, you may push it deeper into the airway and you may waste valuable time. Remember, you must be sure the victim is choking on food. Otherwise, by using the maneuver unnecessarily, you can cause injury. Would you please help me and take off your shirt, if you will? It's not necessary to remove the clothing when performing the maneuver on an actual choking victim, but we're doing so in order to demonstrate the maneuver more clearly. This is how you perform the maneuver. Stand behind the victim. The rescuer places his arms around the victim's waist. Place your fist with the thumb side against the victim's abdomen, slightly above the navel and below the rib cage. Grasp your fist with your other hand. Press into the victim's abdomen with a quick upward thrust. Repeat if necessary. You see, there's always a large amount of air in the lungs. When you press here, you push upward on the diaphragm, which compresses this air, and the object pops out of the mouth due to this air pressure, similar to a cork popping out of a champagne bottle. If the victim is sitting in a chair, perform the maneuver in the same way from behind the chair. If the victim has collapsed or is too heavy to lift, place him on his back with his face upward. Would you care to try this, please? Neil has tried his thighs. Place one of your hands on top of the other and the heel of the bottom hand slightly above the navel and beneath the rib cage. Press into the abdomen with a quick upward thrust. Repeat that several times, if necessary. Should the victim bring up food from his stomach, turn him quickly on his side, face down, and wipe out his mouth so that he will not inhale food particles into his lungs. Whatever position is used, immediately after the rescue, the victim should be examined by a physician. Be careful not to place your hands too high. Your hands should always be below the rib cage. Do not punch. Do not squeeze or hug with your arms. Or you may break the victim's ribs or cause serious internal injuries. Press into the abdomen using only your hands in this manner. To remember the proper technique, think of these words. The victim's life is in your hands. If you are sure of the technique and want to practice it on another person so you know how to do it, apply the maneuver carefully, exactly as shown here, and under trained supervision. That's fine. Thank you. There are precautionary measures that everyone can take to minimize the danger of choking on food. These are cut your food into small pieces. Chew thoroughly, particularly if you wear dentures. On the other hand, things that increase the possibility of choking on food are laughing and talking while eating, consuming large amounts of alcohol, and children who run around with food or candy in their mouths. But when a person does choke, the same techniques are used for men, women, and children. Children as young as 9 months of age have been saved. But of course, you must use much less pressure on children than on adults. Whatever the age of the victim, a strong rescuer should limit the amount of pressure he uses using reasonable restraint. Excuse me, doctor. What if I'm an older person, say someone 75, 80 years old? What would he or she do? If you two come up, I'll show you. The victim is best on his back if the Yes, please. If the rescuer is an older person, a slight woman, or a child. And the reason for this is that in this position, the pressure applied depends on the weight of the rescuer rather than his strength. A pregnant woman should not rehearse or practice the maneuver. However, it should be used to save her life if she's choking, of course. A person who chokes when he or she is alone can press his own fist into his abdomen or roll against the back of a chair or the edge of a sink. The effect is the same as when a rescuer applies the pressure. There is always air in the lungs. And the quick thrust applied just below the diaphragm forces the diaphragm upward. This movement compresses the air in the lungs and pops the piece of food from the windpipe like a cork. Oh, I don't believe this is happening. Peter, are you okay? Can you talk? I I what to do. That was really scary. That was awful. Will you be all right? Yeah, I'm okay now. I think we still better get you to the doctor. Judy.