First Aid For Choking!!!
Act Quickly
Victim will die in four minutes
The area beyond the tonsils is called the pharynx. It is in this area that our air and food share the same passageway and choking most frequently occurs.
When we breathe, the air goes through the nose, into the pharynx, pass the glottis and larynx, down the trachea and into the lungs. From there it is picked up by the bloodstream and distributed to every cell of the body.
When the cells are receiving the oxygen they need, the skin looks pink. When the oxygen supply is cut off, the skin very quickly becomes blue, and the cells will become damaged in a very short time with death occurring in four minutes.
When we eat, the food goes through the mouth and into the pharynx. As it goes pass the glottis, this little flap falls over the top of the trachea closing it off so the food will not enter it. The food then proceeds down the esophagus and goes into the stomach.
Most often when a person is choked, it is because food or some other object is lodged in the pharynx preventing air from getting through to the trachea.
Signs of Choking:
1. Victim can not speak or breathe
2. Turns blue
3. Collapses
What to Do
1. Keep calm!!
2. Determine whether or not the person needs your assistance. If the victim is inhaling air, coughing, can talk, skin is pink
Leave him alone!!
In most cases he will be able to get over the choking spell by himself.
3. If the choking person is not coughing, cannot speak and is turning blue, this means his air supply is shut off and he is in real danger and needs help immediately.
Call for help to nearby persons if possible!!
Have one of them call 911 for additional help if needed!!
4. Very, very cautiously insert your finger along the inside of the cheek and get behind the object as much as possible and pull the object out.
Be extremely careful not to push the object further down the throat.
5. If this is not possible, then do the following:
If victim is sitting, bend him very quickly at the waist to create a sudden thrust upon the diaphragm thereby pushing air from the lungs up behind the object.
If victim is standing, stand behind him and wrap your arms around victim's waist. Place fist thumb-side in against victim's abdomen below rib cage, slightly above navel.
Grasp your fist with other hand and press your fist forcefully with quick upward thrust into victim's abdomen. Repeat several times if necessary.
If victim is lying down, turn on abdomen and do above maneuver.
6. If victim is still not breathing, the condition is now grave.
Only if there is no response to the above actions and no trained health personnel available, it may be necessary to make an artificial airway in order to save the patient's life.To do this, it is necessary to use a sharp instrument (such as a knife, scissors, razor blade, etc.) to make a small opening into the trachea at the lower part of the front neck. Insert into this opening some object that has a hollow center to hold the airway open.
A writing pen with the inside removed, will serve this purpose, or any small pipe or plastic tube. Leave this object long enough to hold onto
Get patient to a emergency care facility immediately!!!!