Choking Adult:

Conscious Adult
If a person is clutching his or her throat with both hands, they are making the universal signal to show they are choking. If the adult can cough or talk, encourage them to keep coughing. If the adult can no longer cough or talk you must clear the blocked airway. To do this you must perform The Heimlich Maneuver.

1) Stand behind the conscious adult and wrap your arms around their waist.

2) With one hand, make a fist.

3) Place the thumb side of the fist against the victim’s abdomen just above the belly button.

4) Make sure that your hand is far below the tip of the breastbone.

5) Put your other hand over the fist and give quick upward thrusts into the adult’s abdomen.

6) Continue giving thrusts until the airway becomes unblocked and the adult begins to breathe, or until the adult becomes unconscious.

Unconscious Adult
If you have been performing CPR and your breath is not entering the victim you must assume that the airway is blocked.

If the victim is a conscious choking adult who has become unconscious you must lower the adult onto their back on the floor.

1) Perform a head tilt and chin lift to try and open the airway.

2) Attempt to remove the obstruction by sweeping your fingers through the victim’s mouth. This is called a finger sweep. Always use a hooking action to avoid moving the obstruction further into the mouth.

3) Perform a head tilt and chin lift again and give 2 slow breaths.

4) If the breaths do not go in, go to abdominal thrusts.

Abdominal Thrusts

1) Straddle one or both of the victim’s thighs.

2) Place the heel of one hand on the victim’s abdomen, just above the belly button but far below the breast plate.

3) Place your other hand on top of the first, interlinking your fingers.

4) Give 5 quick upward thrusts.

5) Perform a finger sweep and give two slow breaths.

6) If air is still not going into the victim, perform steps 4 and 5 again.

7) Continue giving thrusts until the object is dislodged or medical staff arrive and take over.

IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES YOU MAY HAVE TO PERFORM CPR.

Choking Child:

Conscious Child

1) If the child can talk or cough, encourage him or her to continue coughing.

2) Ask the child if they are choking.

3) Perform the Heimlich Maneuver as detailed previously.

4) Continue with abdominal thrusts until the airway is free or the child becomes unconscious.

Unconscious Child

1) If the child was a conscious choker who has since become unconscious, lower the child onto their back.

2) Give 5 abdominal thrusts and perform a finger sweep.

3) Tilt the head and lift the chin to give 2 slow breaths.

4) If the breath does not go in, continue giving abdominal thrusts, a finger sweep and 2 slow breaths until the object is cleared and the child starts to breathe.

5) Continue until medical help arrives.

IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES YOU MAY HAVE TO PERFORM CPR.

Choking Infant:

Conscious Infant
If an infant is choking you must perform 5 back blows and 5 chest thrusts.

Back Blows

1) Place the infant face up on your forearm.

2) Put your other arm on top of the infant.

3) Use your thumb and fingers to hold the infant’s jaw, sandwiching the infant between your forearms.

4) Turn the infant over, facedown on your forearm.

5) Place your arm down on your thigh, being sure that the infant’s head is lower than his or her chest.

6) Using the heel of your hand, give 5 back blows between the infant’s shoulder blades.

7) Ensure that you hold the infant’s jaw with your thumb and fingers to stabilize the head.

Chest Thrusts

1) You must turn the baby back over to give chest thrusts.

2) Place your free hand and forearm across the infant, sandwiching it between your forearms and supporting the head.

3) Turn the infant onto his or her back and place your arm on your thigh, ensuring that the infant’s head is lower than his or her chest.

4) Imagine a line across the infant’s chest between the nipples.

5) Place your ring finger on the infant’s breast bone just below the imaginary line.

6) Place the pads of the next two fingers just under the line.

7) Raise your ring finger and if you can feel a notch move your fingers up a bit.

8) Compress the infant’s breastbone ½ -1 inch with the pads of your fingers and then let the breast bone resume it’s normal position.

9) Give 5 compressions

10) Continue giving back blows and chest thrusts until the infant can breathe or becomes unconscious.

Unconscious Infant

1) If the infant was a conscious choking victim who became unconscious, place the infant on his or her back on the floor.

2) Perform 5 back blows and then 5 chest thrusts.

3) Perform a foreign body check – open the infant’s mouth, look round the tongue for any foreign objects.

4) If you do see an object, perform a finger sweep and remove the object.

5) Then give 2 slow breaths.

6) If air will not go in, perform back blows, chest thrusts, foreign body checks and 2 slow breaths until the infant starts to breathe or cough.

IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES YOU MAY HAVE TO PERFORM CPR.

WITH REGARD TO ANY FIRST AID INSTANCE OR EMERGENCY WE SUGGEST TO CALL THE EMERGENCY SERVICES IMMEDIATELY AS THIS INFORMATION IS ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE A GUIDE.