Almost choking: don't hit on the back!

[Bathsheba]

I've read a few threads that have reminded me of something that I learned during my recent Red Cross first aid training:

Apparently if a child or adult is struggling with something in their mouth and seem to be choking it is NOT safe to thump them on the back. They said that this could actually make them choke on it. Save the thumping on the back until their breathing has been completely blocked and they are doing a silent kind of struggle.
The first thing to do is tilt them forward... if a child: then over your knee. Then if this fails to dislodge it then thump firm and hard between the shoulder blades so as to use any air in the lungs to push the obstruction upwards.

My instructor said that if a child can still get air in, even just a little bit to just leave them alone to cough it up. He gave the example of when he had to help a child choking on a small toy... he said that it came out when he tilted the child forward but if he had thumped then the piece could have actually been shaken down deeper into the throat.

I was surprised to hear that I had been doing the wrong thing all these years. It's such a reflex thing to thump a child's back if they are starting to choke on anything isn't it? But this is current official first aid training... hard to argue with I guess.

[PinkPalace]

THis is correct, i have always tilted head down before a tap between the shoulder blades.
i am super speed now... i bet the kids dont even realise why they are hanging this way lol!

[aussienic]

Thanks for the reminder.. Its always good to know what to when things like this happen

[kirsty_lee]

Yeah I think thats part of the reason they tell people not to do the hymlick manouver anymore either, and I think that's what everyones first instinct is I guess. But it all changes.. CPR has TOTALLY changed since I did it.

[Lolli]

Oh dear. I thinks I need to do a first aid refresher course...

[Bathsheba]

I really enjoyed doing my course. It was the Senior Level 2 course. Our private health insurance company paid for it. It was done in the evenings for a month.

[Turkish Delight]

I just completed my L2 Senior First Aid cert only yesterday. I did 2 full days. I learnt a lot. It was for work, so they paid for it. I'm sure it'll come in handy at home too.

[luna moth]

Yeah I think thats part of the reason they tell people not to do the hymlick manouver anymore either, and I think that's what everyones first instinct is I guess.

Thank Hollywood for that. I don't know if it's ever actually been taught in Australia, I could be wrong, but I thought I heard that somewhere. I have been Senior First Aid certified since 1993, and it has never been included in a course.

I have been present at two choking incidents - one at a Mothers' Group where a 1 year old was walking around with a rice cake and everyone, including an RN, just started to panic and scream. The other was a two year old eating popcorn, and both happened in the same week, so I am SO wary of kids eating these foods now!

[Toomanytoomany]

Thank Hollywood for that. I don't know if it's ever actually been taught in Australia, I could be wrong, but I thought I heard that somewhere. I have been Senior First Aid certified since 1993, and it has never been included in a course.

I have been present at two choking incidents - one at a Mothers' Group where a 1 year old was walking around with a rice cake and everyone, including an RN, just started to panic and scream. The other was a two year old eating popcorn, and both happened in the same week, so I am SO wary of kids eating these foods now!

The Heimlich manouevre has never been a standard part of first aid in Australia, I think, but it certainly isn't now. People know it from the movies... but there isn't actually clinical evidence that it works better than the methods mentioned above, and there is plenty of evidence that it can do more harm than good.