First Aid: Choking Individual.

Choking is the inability to breathe because the trachea is blocked, constricted, or swollen shut.

Anyone can choke, but choking is more common in children than in adults. Choking is a common cause of accidental death in young children who are apt to put toys or coins in their mouths, then unintentionally inhale them. Generally, Choking occurs when a foreign object becomes lodged in the throat or windpipe, blocking the flow of air. Because choking cuts off oxygen to the brain, administer first aid as quickly as possible.

The universal sign for choking is hands clutched to the throat. If the person doesn't give the signal, look for these indications:

1. Inability to talk
2. Difficulty breathing or noisy breathing
3. Inability to cough forcefully
4. Skin, lips and nails turning blue or dusky
5. Loss of consciousness

To perform abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver) on someone else:

Ø  Stand behind the person. Wrap your arms around the waist. Tip the person forward slightly.

Ø  Make a fist with one hand. Position it slightly above the person's navel.

Ø  Grasp the fist with the other hand. Press hard into the abdomen with a quick, upward thrust -as if trying to lift the person up.

Ø  Perform a total of 5 abdominal thrusts, if needed. If the blockage still isn't dislodged, repeat the five-and-five cycle.

First, if you're alone and choking, call for assistance immediately. Then, although you'll be unable to effectively deliver back blows to yourself, you can still perform abdominal thrusts to dislodge the item.

Ø  Place a fist slightly above your navel.

Ø  Grasp your fist with the other hand and bend over a hard surface — a countertop or chair will do.

Ø  Shove your fist inward and upward.

To clear the airway of an unconscious person:

Ø  Lower the person on his or her back onto the floor.

Ø  Clear the airway. If a blockage is visible at the back of the throat or high in the throat, reach a finger into the mouth and sweep out the cause of the blockage. Be careful not to push the food or object deeper into the airway, which can happen easily in young children.

Ø  Begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if the object remains lodged and the person doesn't respond after you take the above measures. The chest compressions used in CPR may dislodge the object. Remember to recheck the mouth periodically.

To clear the airway of a choking infant younger than age 1:

Ø  Assume a seated position and hold the infant face down on your forearm, which is resting on your thigh.

Ø  Thump the infant gently but firmly five times on the middle of the back using the heel of your hand. The combination of gravity and the back blows should release the blocking object.

Ø  Hold the infant face up on your forearm with the head lower than the trunk if the above doesn't work. Using two fingers placed at the center of the infant's breastbone, give five quick chest compressions.

Ø  Repeat the back blows and chest thrusts if breathing doesn't resume. Call for emergency medical help.

Ø  Begin infant CPR if one of these techniques opens the airway but the infant doesn't resume breathing.