Adult, Child, and Infant Choking

Relief of Choking in an Unresponsive Infant

Begin CPR with 1 exception: Shout for help and send someone to activate the emergency response system. Place the infant on a hard, flat surface. Each time you open the airway to give breaths, look for the obstruction object in the back of the throat. If you see an object that can be easily removed, carefully remove it with you fingers. Do not do a blind finger sweep. Only remove the object if you can see it. If you are alone, after 2 minutes or 5 cycles of CPR, activate the emergency response system.

Step 3

Grasp your fist with the other hand and press your fist into the victim's abdomen with a quizk, forceful upward thrust.

Relief of Choking in an Unresponsive Adult or Child

If a choking victim becomes unresponsive, send someone to activate the emergency response system. Lower the victim to the ground and start CPR. Perform CPR with 1 exception: each time you open the airway to give breaths, look for the obstructing object in the throat. If you see an object that can be easily removed, carefully remove it with your fingers. Do no do a blind finger sweep because it may cause the object to become lodged further back in the airway.

Relief of Choking if the Victim is Obese or Pregnant

If the victim is too large for you to wrap your arms around the waist, wrap your arms around his or her chest and do chest thrust instead of abdominal thrusts.

How to Perform Back Slaps and Chest Thrust: Infant Choking Step 1

If you find a choking infant who is responsive, first sit or kneel with the infant in your lap. Note: If it is easy to do, remove clothing from the infant's chest. Hold the infant face down and resting on your forearm, with the head slightly lower than the chest.

How to Perform Back Slaps and Chest Thrust: Infant Choking Step 5

Keep the infant's head lower than the chest, and deliver up to 5 quick downward chest thrusts in the same location that you perform compressions-just below the nipple line, over the lower half of the breastbone. Do this at the rate of about 1 per second, each with the intention of creating enough force to dislodge the foreign body.

Step 2

Make a fist with the other hand and place the thumb side of your fist against the victim's abdomen, just above the navel and well below the breatbone.

How to Perform Back Slaps and Chest Thrust: Infant Choking Step 4

Place your free hand on the infant's back, supporting the head with the palm of your hand. This will cradle the infant between your 2 forearms as you turn the infant over while carefully supporting the head and neck.

How to Perform Back Slaps and Chest Thrust: Infant Choking Step 6

Repeat the sequence of 5 black slaps and 5 chest thrusts until the object is removed or until the infant becomes unresponsive.

How to Perform Back Slaps and Chest Thrust: Infant Choking Step 3

Rest your forearm on your thigh to provide support. Deliver up to 5 back slaps forcefully between the infant's shoulder blades, using the heel of your hand. deliver each slap with sufficient force to attempt to remove the foreign body.

Step 1

Stand or kneel behind the victim and place your arms around the victim's waist; with one hand, locate the navel.

How to Perform Back Slaps and Chest Thrust: Infant Choking Step 2

Support the head and jaw with your hand. Avoid compressing the soft tissues of the infant's throat.

When food or other items block the airway, choking occurs.

With a severe airway obstruction, the victim will show of poor air exchange and breathing difficulty such as: Silent cough Inability to speak or breath Cyanosis (turning blue) An adult or older child may clutch the neck with both hands, making the universal choking sign. If the victim nods that he or she is choking and cannot talk, you must act. In a standing or kneeling position, you will perform an abdominal thrust.

Step 4

repeat thrust until the object is expelled from the airway or the victim become unresponsive.