Page 175 - (DK) Home Doctor: Providing practical advice on home treatments

FIRST AID 173

PRACTICAL TECHNIQUE

Dealing with choking Dealing with choking
(children aged 1–7 years) (babies under 1 year)
You need to clear the blockage from the throat as quickly A choking baby may try to cry but instead make strange
as possible. Encourage the child to cough but do not noises or no sound at all. Use back slaps immediately,
waste time if this is ineffective. You may need to kneel then chest thrusts, if necessary.
down to use first aid techniques on a child.
CAUTION: Never attempt to use abdominal thrusts
on a baby under 1 year old.
Stand or kneel behind the child and bend him or
her forward. Place your fist between the navel and
Lay the baby face down
1 the bottom of the breastbone and grasp your fist along your forearm,
with your other hand. Pull sharply inward and 1 supporting the body and
upward, giving up to 5 thrusts.
head. Give up to 5 slaps
on the baby’s back
with the palm of
Check the mouth to see your hand. Check
if the blockage has
2 been dislodged. the baby’s mouth
Stop thrusts if and remove any
the airway has visible objects
with a finger.
been cleared;
if not, give
3 more
abdominal Make sure the baby’s
head is below level
thrusts. of the chest

Start by placing
your fist above
the child’s navel
If choking persists, lay the
baby face upward on your
If after a further 2 arm. Place 2 fingertips on the
3 abdominal thrusts, lower half of the breastbone
3 the blockage has not just below the level of the
cleared, call 911, nipples. Give up to 5
and continue to downward thrusts to
give thrusts until the chest. Check the
help arrives. mouth again.

Push downward on
the breastbone with
your fingertips

Support the baby’s
head securely
Grasp your fist
with your other
hand and pull
sharply inward If chest thrusts fail to dislodge the blockage, repeat
and upward the sequence of back slaps and chest thrusts as
3 described above. If the blockage has not cleared
If the child becomes unconscious while you are after 3 of these sequences, call 911. If the baby
waiting for medical help to arrive, get ready to becomes unconscious, get ready to perform CPR
4 perform CPR (see pp.170–171). (see pp.170–171).