How to deal with a suffocation victim

Choking can occur while the person is eating or drinking. When a person is drowning, he will probably cough. This is the body's natural reaction to remove food stuck in the airways.

Conventional wisdom or informal teaching tells us that slapping the victim on the back or inserting the fingers into the mouth effectively alleviates suffocation. The authorities, however, do not agree. There is a good chance that clogged foods will go deeper into the trachea, which makes it harder to remove. The best thing you can do is to stay calm and do nothing.

Help should be sought when the person can not breathe, can not speak and his face turns blue.

How to perform the Heimlich Maneuver

 

  • Move behind the victim and surround with arms around the waist. Place the right fist under the ribs. Cover the fist with the other hand. If the victim is a child, kneel so that their hands are level with the victim's body.
  • Push in and up (in a hook movement) forcefully and quickly. Continue this until the victim coughs or expels the food stuck or the object stuck.

 

What to do when the victim loses consciousness?

Call to ask for emergency help - If you are with other people, ask someone for help. In the meantime, assist the victim immediately. If you are alone with the person, help him or her for a minute and then call the emergency service, which in Mexico City is the 066

Start cardiopulmonary resuscitation - CPR must be performed by someone with adequate CPR training.

Assume the CPR position only with your hands - With the palm of the hand in the sternum of the area of ​​the right in the chest between the nipples -, press hard and fast around. Do this continuously until help arrives, at a rate of 100 times per minute.

Stop CPR once the emergency help arrives and you are ready to take over.


Video Medicine: The best way to save a choking victim is no longer 'the Heimlich' (March 2024).