BACK TOTOP Browse A-ZSearchBrowse A-ZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0-9 E-mail FormEmail ResultsName:Email address:Recipients Name:Recipients address:Message: Print-FriendlyBookmarksbookmarks-menuAbdominal thrustsChoking - Heimlich maneuver Choking is when someone is having a very hard time breathing because food, a toy, or other object is blocking the throat or windpipe (airway).A choking person's airway may be blocked so that not enough oxygen reaches the lungs. Without oxygen, brain damage can occur in as little as 4 to 6 minutes. Rapid first aid for choking can save a person's life.Abdominal thrusts is an emergency technique to help clear someone's airway.The procedure is done on someone who is choking and also conscious. Choking and also consciousChoking is when someone is having a very hard time breathing because food, a toy, or other object is blocking the throat or windpipe (airway). A chok...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article Most experts do not recommend abdominal thrusts for infants less than 1 year old. You can also perform the maneuver on yourself.YourselfThe Heimlich maneuver is a first aid procedure used when a person is choking. If you are alone and you are choking, you can try to dislodge the item...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article First Aid First ask, "Are you choking? Can you speak?" DO NOT perform first aid if the person is coughing forcefully and is able to speak. A strong cough can often dislodge the object.If the person is choking, perform abdominal thrusts as follows:If the person is sitting or standing, position yourself behind the person and reach your arms around their waist. For a child, you may have to kneel. Place your fist, thumb side in, just above the person's navel (belly button). Grasp the fist tightly with your other hand. Make quick, upward and inward thrusts with your fist. If the person is lying on their back, straddle the person facing the head. Push your grasped fist upward and inward in a movement similar to the one above.You may need to repeat the procedure several times before the object is dislodged. If repeated attempts do not free the airway, call 911 or the local emergency number.If the person loses consciousness, start CPR. Start CPRChoking is when someone cannot breathe because food, a toy, or other object is blocking the throat or windpipe (airway). A choking person's airway ma...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article If you are not comfortable performing abdominal thrusts, you can perform back blows instead on a person who is choking.Back blowsChoking is when someone is having a very hard time breathing because food, a toy, or other object is blocking the throat or windpipe (airway). A chok...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article Open ReferencesReferencesAmerican Red Cross. First Aid/CPR/AED Participant's Manual. 2nd ed. Dallas, TX: American Red Cross; 2016. www.pdfdrive.com/american-red-cross-first-aidcpraed-d128296673.html. Accessed February 20, 2023.Goodloe JM, Soulek J. Foreign bodies. In: Walls RM, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 51.Kleinman ME, Goldberger ZD, Rea T, et al. 2017 American Heart Association focused update on adult basic life support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality: an update to the American Heart Association Guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care. Circulation. 2018;137(1):e7-e13. PMID: 29114008 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29114008/.AllVideoImagesTogHeimlich maneuver on adult - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on adultillustrationHeimlich maneuver on infant - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on infantillustrationChoking - illustration Choking is the hindrance of breathing due to an obstruction of the throat or windpipe. The Heimlich maneuver should be conducted to try to dislodge the object.ChokingillustrationHeimlich maneuver on an adult - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on an adultillustrationHeimlich maneuver on conscious child - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on conscious childillustrationHeimlich maneuver on conscious child - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on conscious childillustrationHeimlich maneuver on infant - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on infantillustrationHeimlich maneuver on infant - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on infantillustrationHeimlich maneuver on adult - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on adultillustrationHeimlich maneuver on infant - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on infantillustrationChoking - illustration Choking is the hindrance of breathing due to an obstruction of the throat or windpipe. The Heimlich maneuver should be conducted to try to dislodge the object.ChokingillustrationHeimlich maneuver on an adult - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on an adultillustrationHeimlich maneuver on conscious child - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on conscious childillustrationHeimlich maneuver on conscious child - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on conscious childillustrationHeimlich maneuver on infant - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on infantillustrationHeimlich maneuver on infant - illustration Choking is fairly common. Choking deaths occur most commonly in children less than 3 years old and in senior citizens, but can occur at any age. The Heimlich maneuver has been valuable in saving lives and can be administered by anyone who has learned the technique.Heimlich maneuver on infantillustrationRelated Information Tracheostomy(Surgery)Choking - infant under 1 year(Injury)Choking - adult or child over 1 year(Injury)Choking - unconscious adult or child over 1 year(Injury) Review Date: 1/2/2023 Reviewed By: Jesse Borke, MD, CPE, FAAEM, FACEP, Attending Physician at Kaiser Permanente, Orange County, CA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language. © 1997- A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. © 1997- All rights reserved. A.D.A.M. content is best viewed in IE9 or above, Firefox and Google Chrome browser.Content is best viewed in IE9 or above, Firefox and Google Chrome browser.
Abdominal thrustsChoking - Heimlich maneuver Choking is when someone is having a very hard time breathing because food, a toy, or other object is blocking the throat or windpipe (airway).A choking person's airway may be blocked so that not enough oxygen reaches the lungs. Without oxygen, brain damage can occur in as little as 4 to 6 minutes. Rapid first aid for choking can save a person's life.Abdominal thrusts is an emergency technique to help clear someone's airway.The procedure is done on someone who is choking and also conscious. Choking and also consciousChoking is when someone is having a very hard time breathing because food, a toy, or other object is blocking the throat or windpipe (airway). A chok...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article Most experts do not recommend abdominal thrusts for infants less than 1 year old. You can also perform the maneuver on yourself.YourselfThe Heimlich maneuver is a first aid procedure used when a person is choking. If you are alone and you are choking, you can try to dislodge the item...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article First Aid First ask, "Are you choking? Can you speak?" DO NOT perform first aid if the person is coughing forcefully and is able to speak. A strong cough can often dislodge the object.If the person is choking, perform abdominal thrusts as follows:If the person is sitting or standing, position yourself behind the person and reach your arms around their waist. For a child, you may have to kneel. Place your fist, thumb side in, just above the person's navel (belly button). Grasp the fist tightly with your other hand. Make quick, upward and inward thrusts with your fist. If the person is lying on their back, straddle the person facing the head. Push your grasped fist upward and inward in a movement similar to the one above.You may need to repeat the procedure several times before the object is dislodged. If repeated attempts do not free the airway, call 911 or the local emergency number.If the person loses consciousness, start CPR. Start CPRChoking is when someone cannot breathe because food, a toy, or other object is blocking the throat or windpipe (airway). A choking person's airway ma...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article If you are not comfortable performing abdominal thrusts, you can perform back blows instead on a person who is choking.Back blowsChoking is when someone is having a very hard time breathing because food, a toy, or other object is blocking the throat or windpipe (airway). A chok...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article Open ReferencesReferencesAmerican Red Cross. First Aid/CPR/AED Participant's Manual. 2nd ed. Dallas, TX: American Red Cross; 2016. www.pdfdrive.com/american-red-cross-first-aidcpraed-d128296673.html. Accessed February 20, 2023.Goodloe JM, Soulek J. Foreign bodies. In: Walls RM, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 51.Kleinman ME, Goldberger ZD, Rea T, et al. 2017 American Heart Association focused update on adult basic life support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality: an update to the American Heart Association Guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care. Circulation. 2018;137(1):e7-e13. PMID: 29114008 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29114008/.