What to do in case of choking

Imagine this: you are having a nice dinner with friends or family and suddenly someone grabs their throat. No sound, no breathing - pure panic. What do you do then? Acting quickly and appropriately in such a situation can make the difference between life and death. In this blog you will read how to recognize a choking emergency and what steps to take to help.

What is suffocation?

Choking occurs when something blocks the airway (partially or completely), preventing air from reaching the lungs. Normally, the epiglottis keeps food or liquid from entering the trachea. But if a person tries to breathe or talk at the same time while swallowing, a piece of food can still get stuck.

Effective and ineffective coughing

Coughing, wheezing, gagging or choking are signs that the airway is (partially) blocked. In addition, the symptoms often arise suddenly. The best way to clear the airway is to cough. Therefore, the first step in choking is to encourage the victim to cough. With airway obstruction, we distinguish between an effective and a non-effective cough.

When a person can cough loudly, still talk or cry and breathe deeply before coughing, it is an effective cough. In this case, it is important to encourage the person to continue coughing and continue to observe if the situation improves.

Sometimes, however, coughing is no longer effective. When a person coughs only softly or not at all, cannot talk or breathe, and shows signs of loss of consciousness or blueness, immediate action is needed. This means that the airway is severely blocked and help should be called immediately.

If the cough is ineffective, call 911 immediately. Important to note, if you are alone and no one can call for the victim, first 5 back strokes then 5 abdominal thrusts and then call 911.

What to do in case of choking?

As described above, distinguish between an effective or ineffective cough. With an effective cough, encourage coughing and check regularly to see if the airway obstruction has lifted or if the airway obstruction is becoming more severe.

For a non-effectivecough , it is best to proceed according to this roadmap:

• Five back punches: you stand diagonally behind the victim and stand with your hip against the victim's back, so that the victim's body is stopped when abdominal punches are given, have him bend forward slightly and with one arm hold the chest. With your other arm give the punches, with the palm of the hand between the shoulder blades.
• Five abdominal thrusts (formerly Heimlich): stand behind the victim, place a fist with the thumb facing you in the soft part of the abdomen, about navel level. Fold your other hand over the fist. Your forearms now rest at the level of the lower ribs. Give the abdominal thrusts with a twisting, upward (scooping) motion toward you.
• Repeat alternately 5 back strokes and 5 abdominal thrusts: you alternate the back strokes and abdominal thrusts after this, and in the meantime let 112 call. Are you alone? Call 911 after the first back and belly thrusts. You continue this repetition until the choking is resolved or the victim becomes unconscious.
• When the victim becomes unconscious, start CPR.

Special cases

Sometimes abdominal thrusts cannot be used, for example in pregnant women or obese people. In these cases, you can perform chest thrusts. Stand behind the person and place your hands at the level of the sternum. Make a fist and place the other hand over it. Press forcefully and quickly inward and slightly upward, similar to the Heimlich maneuver. If this fails, have the person lean against a wall or something similar while you perform chest thrusts.

And what if you choke yourself and no one is around? Then you can help yourself by placing your fists on your stomach, as in the Heimlich maneuver, and forcefully pushing yourself against the edge of a chair or table.

By knowing what to do in case of choking, you can save lives. Hopefully you will never have to use this knowledge, but should the need arise, you will know how to act.

Do you want to be well prepared for various medical emergencies and learn how to act in life-saving ways? Then take our first aid and adult life-saving course.