09/07/2023
FIRST AID FOR CHOKING
Choking is a blockage of the upper airway by food or other objects, which prevents a person from breathing effectively. Choking can cause a simple coughing fit, but complete blockage of the airway may lead to death.
🔵 Choking symptoms and signs
🔘 If an adult is choking, you may observe the following behaviors.
⭕Coughing or gagging.
⭕Hand signals and panic. (sometimes pointing to the throat)
⭕ Sudden inability to talk.
⭕ Clutching the throat. (The natural response to choking is to grab the throat with one or both hands. This is the universal choking sign and a way of telling people that you are choking)
⭕ Wheezing.
⭕ Passing out.
⭕ Turning blue :- Cyanosis, a blue coloring to the skin, can be seen earliest around the face, lips, and fingernail beds, but other critical choking signs would appear first.
🔘 If an infant is choking, more attention must be paid to an infant’s behavior. They cannot be taught the universal choking sign.
⭕ Difficulty in breathing.
⭕ Week cry, weak cough, or both.
Choking prevents oxygen from getting to the brain and lungs. Lack of oxygen to the brain for more than 4 minutes may cause brain damage or death. So it is important to give first-aid as quickly as possible.
🔵 Choking first-aid
✴️ If the person is an adult,
1️⃣ Give 5 back slaps.
✅ Bend the person over at the waist so that the upper body is parallel with the ground.
✅ Place one arm across the person’s chest for support.
✅ Deliver 5 separate back slaps between the person’s shoulder blades with the heel of your hand.
2️⃣ Give abdominal thrusts.
If back slaps fail to relieve the airway obstruction, use abdominal thrusts. A series of under the diaphragm abdominal thrusts are recommended for a person who is choking on a piece of food or a foreign object. This technique is used only when a person is choking due to something blocking the airway. When applying the abdominal thrusts be careful not to use too much force so you don’t damage the ribs or internal organs. Abdominal thrusts lift the diaphragm and force enough air from the lungs to create an artificial cough. This cough is intended to move air through the windpipe, pushing, and expelling