Heimlich Maneuver In Case Of Suffocation
It may have happened to you before or you have never found yourself in this situation, but in any case it never hurts to know the Heimlich maneuver, a technique that can save lives.
In fact, suffocation is more common than we think: remains of food or any object can clog our airways and asphyxiate us little by little. It is a terrible feeling both to experience firsthand and to witness, especially in the case of a small child.
For this reason we offer you these simple basic instructions on how to perform the Heinlich maneuver , with which you could save lives.
1. Identify the type of choking
- Partial obstruction : If you see the person making sounds or coughing, this is a good sign. It means his airways aren’t completely blocked.
Coughing is a defense mechanism to expel remains of food or objects, for this we must encourage the person to continue to do so and, in the event that we can see what is obstructing his breathing, we can try to extract it with thumb and forefinger.
- Even if the situation started with a partial suffocation, we must always be careful not to turn it into a total obstruction. In the case of children under one year of age, remember that the mere fact of seeing them cry and cough is always a good clue.
- Total obstruction : the person makes no sound, but is conscious. She can’t even cough because the choking object completely blocks her airways. It is in this case that you must perform the Heimlich maneuver.
2. Heimlich maneuver in adults or children over one year old
Remember, only start the Heimlich maneuver if the adult or child (older than one year) cannot cough, speak, scream and therefore cannot breathe.
If you do not act immediately they will end up losing consciousness and for this reason it is important to help them quickly while always keeping calm, sure of ourselves. This is a very simple maneuver:
- Stand behind the person staying slightly to one side (if you are right-handed, slightly to their left; if you are left-handed, to their right).
- Now hold the person’s chest firmly with one hand and tilt his torso slightly forward, so that the object in his throat slides towards his mouth; it is important that it always moves outwards and never inwards.
- Now give five sharp blows between the shoulder blades of the person who is choking, using the area of the hand between the palm and the wrist: the blows must be firm and blunt.
- After each shot, see if the object has finally come out.
- If the throat is still blocked and the person is not breathing, apply five compressions on the abdomen : close the fist and place it on the navel, at the level of the pit of the stomach.
Place your other hand on top of the closed fist and pull back with both hands, making a sharp, sharp motion. Repeat this until the object comes out of your mouth.
Warning: this maneuver cannot be performed on pregnant women, children under one year of age or very obese people.
- If the person’s airways continue to be closed after three compression cycles and three strokes between the shoulder blades, ask someone to call an ambulance. Never leave the person alone, but keep trying the Heimlich maneuver.
Suffocation in infants under one year of age
- If the baby is not crying or coughing, quickly place him on his stomach along your forearm or thigh, with his head down and supported.
- Give five sharp blows to the baby’s back with the hand area between the palm and wrist. Then look inside the mouth and remove anything that is obstructing it. Never insert your fingers into the baby’s mouth unless you can see and reach the obstructing object, as this could push it in and worsen the choking.
- If the airways continue to be blocked, apply up to five compressions to the chest, turning the child onto his back and pressing on the chest. After each squeeze, check if the suffocation is resolved.
As you can see the technique is very simple, just keep calm and be sure of yourself. The Heimlich maneuver is always effective, so it is worth knowing it in order to save someone’s life.
