Choking occurs when something is stuck in the oesophagus. In some cases, the item may also block the respiratory system thereby making breathing difficult or even impossible.
The way to deal with choking for an adult and that for a baby differ. The video above is how to deal with choking for a child or an adult.
Firstly, it is important to confirm whether the person is actually chocking, you may ask him or you will see him struggling whilst putting his hand on his neck and slightly bent forward which is the universal sign of choking.
Encourage the person to cough in a bid to attempt to dislodge the object.
Put the person in a standing position, slightly bent forward whilst holding him so that he does not fall down.
If the object does not come out, using the heel of your hand, give 5 back blows in between the shoulder blades of the person.
If the person is still having much difficulty and the object has not moved and is starting to give him breathing issues, immediately call the Medical Emergency Service.
Then, position yourself between the person while attaching your hand below the sternum (breast bone) but above the navel.
You have to do abdominal thrust in order to push out the object. Firstly push inwards then upwards, inwards then upwards continuously.
Note that once you have done abdominal thrust it is mandatory to bring casualty to hospital even though the object is removed from his mouth.
On the other side, if casualty has now become unresponsive due to lack of oxygen, immediately start procedure to offer first aid to an unresponsive person
Sit down and put the baby facedown on your leg.
Give him 5 back blows between the shoulder blades.
Then, rotate the baby to face up, open his mouth and check if object can be removed.
If object is still blocking airway, then at the line joining the 2 nipples, distance of 1 finger down, do the abdominal thrust with 2 fingers that is inwards and outwards.
If object does not come out, call the Emergency Medical Service and continue with back blows untill emergency arrives.
If ever baby stops breathing or becomes unresponsive, immediately start procedure to offer first aid to an unresponsive person.
