Choking, adult or child over 1

Severe airway obstruction: cannot speak, cough or breathe

1ASK

Ask 'Are you choking?'. If they can cough or speak, encourage coughing and do not interfere.

2BACK BLOWS

If they cannot breathe, stand behind them, support the chest with one hand, lean them forward and give 5 sharp blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand.

3ABDOMINAL THRUSTS

Stand behind, make a fist above the navel and below the ribcage, grasp it with the other hand and pull sharply inward and upward, 5 times.

4ALTERNATE

Keep alternating 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts until the object comes out or the person becomes unresponsive.

5UNRESPONSIVE

Lower them to the floor, call 911 and start CPR. Each time you open the airway to give breaths, look in the mouth and remove any visible object.

6AFTERWARDS

Anyone who received abdominal thrusts should be checked by a clinician.

Remember

Pregnant or very large person: use chest thrusts instead of abdominal thrusts.
Never do a blind finger sweep.

Source: MedlinePlus: Choking - adult or child over 1 year (public domain). Follow your local protocols and current guidelines; this guide is a memory aid for trained people, not a substitute for training.

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