Give up to 5 sharp blows to the back between the shoulders with the heel of one hand. After each blow, check if the blockage has been cleared. Use your little finger to remove the object from their mouth if it has cleared from their airway.
First aid for choking if the person is conscious
If coughing does not remove the blockage: Call triple zero (000). Bend the person well forward and give five back blows with the heel of your hand between their shoulderblades – checking if the blockage has been removed after each blow.
Strike five separate times between the person's shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. Give five abdominal thrusts. If back blows don't remove the stuck object, give five abdominal thrusts, also known as the Heimlich maneuver. Alternate between five blows and five thrusts until the blockage is dislodged.
Support their chest with 1 hand. Lean them forward so the object blocking their airway will come out of their mouth, rather than moving further down. Give up to 5 sharp blows between their shoulder blades with the heel of your hand.
Give up to five back blows: hold the baby face-down along your thigh with their head lower than their bottom. Hit them firmly on their back between the shoulder blades up to five times. If back blows do not dislodge the blockage, move on to step 2.
Give up to 5 quick thrusts, compressing the chest about 1/3 to ½ the depth of the chest—usually about 1.5 to 4 cm (0.5 to 1.5 inches) for each thrust. Continue to deliver 5 back blows followed by 5 chest thrusts until the object is dislodged or the infant becomes unconscious.
The rescuer alternates between sets of back blows and abdominal thrusts until the object is cleared. However, the American Heart Association has not reintroduced back blows. They continue to recommend abdominal thrusts as the only response to conscious choking for children and adults.
Ultimately, there is no scientific evidence proving that one method is more effective than the other. For a brief period in the 1980s, it was speculated that back blows might actually make a choking situation worse, potentially creating a total blockage.
Back blows for children over 1 year
If back blows don't relieve the choking and your baby or child is still conscious, give chest thrusts to infants under 1 year or abdominal thrusts to children over 1 year.
Give 5 quick, upward abdominal thrusts. Give sets of 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts until the object is forced out, the person can cough forcefully or breathe, or the person becomes unconscious. If the person becomes unconscious, give care for an unconscious choking adult by performing CPR (see Panel 4).
Give up to five back blows: hit them firmly on their back between the shoulder blades. If back blows do not dislodge the object, move on to step 2. Back blows create a strong vibration and pressure in the airway, which is often enough to dislodge the blockage. Dislodging the blockage will allow them to breathe again.
If choking is occurring, the Red Cross recommends a "five-and-five" approach to delivering first aid: Give 5 back blows. First, deliver five back blows between the person's shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. Give 5 abdominal thrusts.
Give up to 5 quick thrusts down, compressing the chest one third to one half the depth of the chest. Continue 5 back blows followed by 5 chest thrusts until the object is dislodged or the infant loses alertness (becomes unconscious).
5 Back Blows + 5 Chest Thrusts
The guidelines recommends to perform the sequence of up to 5 x Back Blows and up to 5 x Chest Thrusts. If the airway remains obstructed, repeat the sequence until the object is removed or the victim becomes unresponsive.
1) When the American Red Cross introduced back blows to its official guidelines on treating choking, Dr Heimlich disagreed that back blows should be used and asked that his name be removed from the guidelines. Leading to the renaming of the Heimlich manouvre as an Abdominal thrust.
1)First, dial 9-1-1. Even if you can't speak, they can likely trace the call and send help in case you lose consciousness. 2)Find something to thrust your abdomen over to dislodge object, such as the back of a chair or countertop. 3)Keep thrusting until the object dislodges.
Continue to provide sets of 5 back blows and 5 chest thrusts until the object is forced out and the infant can cough, cry or breathe, or, until the infant becomes unresponsive.
How many back blows should be given to an infant? Which method is used to clear an obstructed airway in an infant? Give sets of 5 back blows and 5 chest thrusts.