What to do if you choke and no one is around

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

These simple actions may one day save your life.

Everyone can choke. If at the same time there are no people nearby, it can end in tragedy. Therefore, it is worth knowing how to help yourself on your own.

The main thing is not to panic and be clearly aware of what needs to be done.

Blockage of the upper respiratory tract by a foreign body can be partial or complete.

With a partial blockage, the victim can, albeit with difficulty, breathe, cough, and speak. It is impossible to breathe fully. A characteristic gesture in this case is hands, convulsively clutching at the throat.

What to do if you choke

Try to calm down first. Panic will prevent you from focusing on self-help and will only make matters worse.

Try to cough as hard as possible: this is nature's primary defense mechanism. To make the cough worse, you can bend in half. In this case, the abdominal muscles will help.

Never try to suppress a cough. This will only make the situation worse.

Ksenia Vozhdalova therapist of the mobile clinic DOC +

If there is a mirror nearby, use it: open your mouth, press your tongue down to the jaw with your fingers, pull it up and push it forward a little. This will improve your visibility. If you see a foreign body, try sliding it out of place with your finger and then remove it.

Do not try to grab what is stuck in your throat with two fingers. So you can accidentally push it further and worsen your condition.

What to do if you choke

In this case, the person has no more than one and a half minutes to help himself. After that, most people lose consciousness and a chance for salvation.

1. Use a hard, narrow object

This can be the back of a chair (but not on casters), the edge of the tub, and so on. The main thing is to be able to pile on.

Bend over so that your upper abdomen is exactly over the rigid rib of the chosen object. Relaxing your legs, lean on the object sharply. The pressure in the abdomen will be transferred through the diaphragm to the lungs. This will push the foreign body out. This method is considered the most effective in the practice of rescuers.

Georgy Budarkevich senior first aid instructor of the training center "ProPomoshch"

2. Use the Heimlich trick

Make a fist with one hand. Press it 2–3 centimeters above the navel with your thumb to your stomach. Grasp a fist with your other hand and perform five hard pressure on yourself and up.

Due to the uncomfortable point of application of force and possible physical weakness due to lack of oxygen, this method is considered not very reliable. It is much more effective when the Heimlich trick is used by someone nearby.

3. Hit the floor

Get on your knees, rest your straight arms on the floor. Briskly remove your arms to the sides and drop your chest to the floor. The impact should increase the pressure in the lungs, the foreign body can fly out of the respiratory tract.

This method is considered more theoretical: you can try, but it is not known whether it will help.

How to eat so as not to choke

• Bite off less, chew harder. In this case, the risk of choking is significantly reduced.
• Don't talk while eating. "When I eat, I am deaf and dumb" is a very useful rule.
• Keep a drink nearby: juice, milk, iced tea to wash down your food.
• And most importantly, take your time. Don't snack on the go: this can lead to distraction and choke on even a small piece of food. If you feel like you are in a rush, take a deep breath and continue at a more relaxed pace.

Slowly enjoying a delicious meal is a good way to keep yourself out of trouble.