For decades, the Heimlich maneuver has been lauded as the best way to save a choking victim, but now experts say there's an even better way.
since It was published in 1974The Heimlich maneuver has been the de facto emergency strategy for choking.
Typically, a first aider approaches a choking person from behind, puts his arms around him, and pulls the abdomen up and inward; the pressure produced by this action usually dislodges anything trapped in the airway.
However, research has linked the technique to damage to ribs and heart valves, and rupture of the stomach and esophagus.
Much less invasive than the Heimlich, striking a person's back directly between the shoulder blades can be just as effective at dislodging the block.
in 2005, American Red Cross revised its recommendations for foreign body/airway obstruction (FBAO), administering the first five Attack the back and if unsuccessful, attack five times Abdominal thrusts, also known as the Heimlich maneuver.
Grace Lawson, chief EMT instructor at St John Ambulance, said: mirror“It is always a better option to stab in the back first and then in the stomach.”
He said the abdominal blow, which is typical of Heimlich, “can cause significant harm to the victim.”
Grace says it's important to talk to the person who is choking before you start punching or striking: “We first ask them if they are choking, because it could be due to a severe allergic reaction that's causing their throat to swell up – which could be a different cause of the blockage.”
Grace then asks if the patient can cough to determine if the blockage can be removed internally.
“If they can't do that or can't cough at all, we support them from the front across the shoulders and use the heel of our hand between the shoulder blades to hit the back up to five times,” he added. “If it still doesn't come out, we hit the abdomen up to five times. If that doesn't work, call an ambulance and repeat the process, so hit continuously.”
There were approximately 5,500 choking deaths in the US in 2022, research showsIn which the elderly and small children are most at risk.
Grace said that she does not allow her younger son to move around while eating so that he does not have the risk of choking. “I have become a little more strict with my son now. Like I do not let him run around with food. He sits in his chair and if he does not eat, we remove it. He does not eat while moving around or doing anything.”
After the five-time Olympic cyclist Death of Daniela Larriel Chirinos From Last month I was suffocating, Dr. Tonia L. Farmer, an ear, nose and throat surgeon based in Ohio, explains what you should do if you're alone and start choking while eating. Call 911 and try to cough as hard as you can, Dr. Farmer said.
“If that doesn't work, if you can't cough at all, if air isn't coming out, then you're going to do the Heimlich maneuver as you would with anyone else,” Farmer said. “And there are two ways to do that.”
The first way is to try to push the food out by pushing your stomach against a chair or countertop.
“You want to make sure the chair you're using doesn't have any sharp edges, because you don't want to cut your stomach,” Farmer said. “You don't want to cause any internal injuries.”
If that doesn't work, Farmer said, make a fist and press it into the center of your stomach, just below your ribs, just as you would anyone else.
