Module 10 - Relief of Choking

Relief of Choking in a Responsive Adult or Child

- use abdominal thrusts to relieve choking in a responsive adult or child -in severe airway obstruction the victim will usually have SIGNS OF POOR AIR EXCHANGE

Relief of Choking in a Responsive Infant

-choking fairly common in infants -different steps to relieve choking in infants than for adults -shout for help -lay infant on hard flat surface -perform cpr but look for the object and if visible try to remove it, never perform blind sweep -if you are lone after about 2 minutes, or 5 cycles of CPR activate the emergency response system

Relief of Choking in an Unresponsive Adult or Child

-choking victims may worsen and become unresponsive -If the victim becomes unresponsive: send someone to activate EMS, lower the victim to the ground and begin CPR -perform CPR with one exception -> each time you open the airway to give breaths look for obstructing object in the back of the throat, if you see the object carefully remove it -DO NOT perform blind finger swoop as this can lodge the object further into the throat and further block the airway

Signs of Poor Air Exchange

-silent cough -inability to speak or breathe -cyanosis (turning blue) -adult or child may clutch their neck - the universal sign for choking -if the victim nods that he or she is choking, in standing or kneeling victim you will perform abdominal thrusts - the heimlich maneuver

How to Perform Back Slaps and Chest Thrusts

-clearing an object from a responsive infant's airway requires a combination of back slaps and chest thrusts. -abdominal thrusts are NOT appropriate Step 1: if you find an infant choking and he/she is responsive, sit or kneel with the infant in your lap. Hold the infant facedown and resting on your forearm, with the head slightly lower than the chest *if easy to do, remove clothing from infant's chest Step 2: Support the head and jaw with your hand. Avoid compressing soft tissues of the infant's throat 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 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. 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 Step 6: Repeat the sequence of 5 back slaps and 5 chest thrusts until the object is removed or until the infant becomes unresponsive

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, do chest thrusts instead of abdominal thrusts

How to Perform Abdominal Thrusts

Step 1: Stand or kneel behind the victim and place your arms around the victim's waist; with one hand, locate the navel 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 below the breastbone. Step 3: Grasp your fist with the other hand and press your fist into the victim's abdomen with a quick, forceful upward thrust. Step 4: Repeat thrusts until the object is expelled from the airway or the victim becomes unresponsive