Great advice this Summer from
Bucks First Aid & Safety Training
Long summer days call for time with friends out in the garden. The aroma of sizzling burgers and the sound of light chatter & laughter fill the air when suddenly one of your friends or family is struggling to breath. Time stands still as their life or death hangs in the balance - what do you do?
1. If someone appears to be choking but can cough or speak DO NOT slap them on the back - this can lead to a full choke - simply encourage them to cough the obstruction out.
2. If someone is choking and can not cough or speak slap them hard between the shoulder blades 5 times, looking to see if the obstruction has dislodged after each slap.
3. If back slaps don't work move to abdominal thrusts:
a. Stand behind the person and put your arms around them*
b. Make a fist with one hand and place the other hand over that fist.
c. Aiming just beneath the rib cage pull your fist in and up hard and fast, making the shape of a J in your movement -you're trying to jerk the diaphragm to force air up and out.
d. Repeat abdominal thrusts 5 times.
4. If the obstruction remains, call for an ambulance whilst you repeat steps 2 and 3
*If you are too small or your friend is too large for you to reach around them, tell them to stand against a wall and use your weight to force your fist in and up under their rib cage.
