First aid for choking and suffocation

Heimlich’s maneuver

Choking occurs with partial or complete airway obstruction. It can be caused by a slice of food, vomiting from unconsciousness or drunkenness, swelling after insect bites and allergic reactions to them, and by your own tongue in deep fainting.

With partially obstructed airways, the person will cough and expel the foreign body itself.

When choking with food, Heimlich's maneuver on the casualty should be performed immediately and without delay. The person is approached from the back, with arms wrapped around belt, and clenched hands clasped on his stomach (between the person's belly button and the lowest part of his ribs) and strongly press the person's abdomen several times. In this way, a suppressed pressure stream ejects the piece that clogged the airways from the lungs. The procedure, if the first one was not successful, should be repeated several times.

When unconscious, a modified Heimlich maneuver should be performed. The injured person should be laid on his back, face turned sideways - kneel over the person and place the heel of one hand on the person's abdomen, slightly above the navel. Next, place your other hand on top of the first. Press into the abdomen with quick, upward thrusts. When the obstruction comes out, it should be removed from the mouth and the injured person should be placed in the resting position (if breathing). If he is not breathing, start CPR.

If the air cannot be inflated (chest not rising, inflating resistance), airway obstruction is still present and the procedure should be repeated.