{"id":25927,"date":"2025-09-22T16:39:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T20:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valuecare.webcoreweb.com\/?p=25927"},"modified":"2025-09-22T16:39:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T20:39:36","slug":"emergency-medicine-choking-the-heimlich-maneuver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valuecare.webcoreweb.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/22\/emergency-medicine-choking-the-heimlich-maneuver\/","title":{"rendered":"Emergency Medicine: Choking \u2013 the Heimlich Maneuver"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"et_post_meta_wrapper\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/37219688_s.jpg\" alt=\"Emergency Medicine: Choking \ufffd the Heimlich Maneuver\" width=\"1080\" height=\"675\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\"><center><\/center><\/p>\n<h3>Do You Know What to do if Someone Is Choking?<\/h3>\n<h3>How to Know if Someone Choking Needs Your Help<\/h3>\n<p>The\u00a0<strong>universal sign for choking<\/strong>\u00a0is hands clutched to the throat. If the person doesn\u2019t give the signal, look for these indications:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>-Inability to talk<\/li>\n<li>-Difficulty breathing or noisy breathing<\/li>\n<li>-Inability to cough forcefully<\/li>\n<li>-Skin, lips and nails turning blue or dusky<\/li>\n<li>-Loss of consciousness<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The\u00a0<strong>Heimlich maneuver<\/strong>\u00a0is an emergency technique for preventing suffocation when a person\u2019s airway (windpipe) becomes blocked by a piece of food or other object.<\/p>\n<p>It can be used safely on both adults and children, but most experts do not recommend it for infants less than one year old. You can also perform the maneuver on yourself. If the person has stopped breathing and you have dislodged the object from the windpipe,\u00a0<a href=\"\/emergency-medicine-heart-attack-and-cpr\/\">CPR may need to be performed<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/center><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Heimlich Maneuver<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h3>To perform the Heimlich Maneuver on an infant:<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-186542 size-medium\" title=\"Emergency Medicine: Choking - The Heimlich Maneuver\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/27668122_s-e1486879160304-325x217.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 325px) 100vw, 325px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/27668122_s-e1486879160304-325x217.jpg 325w, https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/27668122_s-e1486879160304-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/27668122_s-e1486879160304-100x67.jpg 100w, https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/27668122_s-e1486879160304.jpg 450w\" alt=\"Emergency Medicine: Choking - The Heimlich Maneuver\" width=\"325\" height=\"217\" \/>1. Place the infant face down across your forearm (resting your forearm on your leg) and support the infant\u2019s head with your hand. Give four forceful blows to the back with the heel of your hand. You may have to repeat this several times until the obstructing object is coughed out.<\/p>\n<p>2. If this does not work, turn the baby over. With two fingers one finger width below an imaginary line connecting the nipples, give four forceful thrusts to the chest to a depth of one inch.<\/p>\n<p>You may have to repeat this several times until the obstructing object is coughed out.<\/p>\n<h3><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-186545\" title=\"Emergency Medicine: Choking - The Heimlich Maneuver\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/59792145_s-218x400.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/59792145_s-218x400.jpg 218w, https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/59792145_s-109x200.jpg 109w, https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/59792145_s-54x100.jpg 54w, https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/59792145_s.jpg 245w\" alt=\"Emergency Medicine: Choking - The Heimlich Maneuver\" width=\"204\" height=\"374\" \/>To perform the Heimlich Maneuver on yourself:<\/h3>\n<p>1. Place a fist slightly above your navel.<\/p>\n<p>2. Grasp your fist with the other hand and bend over a hard surface \u2013 a countertop or chair will do.<\/p>\n<p>3. Shove your fist inward and upward.<\/p>\n<p>4. If you do not have the strength or the object is not coming out, find the corner of a table or chair and push your body upward and inward.<\/p>\n<h3>If choking is occurring, the Red Cross recommends a \u201cfive-and-five\u201d approach to delivering first aid:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>First, deliver FIVE back blows between the person\u2019s shoulder blades with the heel of your hand.<\/li>\n<li>Second, perform FIVE abdominal thrusts (also known as the Heimlich Maneuver).<\/li>\n<li>Third, alternate between FIVE back blows and five abdominal thrusts until the blockage is dislodged.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-186543\" title=\"Emergency Medicine: Choking - The Heimlich Maneuver\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/heim1.gif-306x400.png\" sizes=\"(max-width: 303px) 100vw, 303px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/heim1.gif-306x400.png 306w, https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/heim1.gif-153x200.png 153w, https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/heim1.gif-76x100.png 76w, https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20171004115445im_\/http:\/\/www.natural-holistic-health.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/heim1.gif.png 520w\" alt=\"Emergency Medicine: Choking - The Heimlich Maneuver\" width=\"303\" height=\"396\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3>To perform the Heimlich Maneuver on someone else:<\/h3>\n<p>1. Stand behind the person. Wrap your arms around the waist. Tip the person forward slightly.<\/p>\n<p>2. Make a fist with one hand. Position it slightly above the person\u2019s navel.<\/p>\n<p>3. Grasp the fist with the other hand. Press hard into the abdomen with a quick, upward thrust ? as if trying to lift the person up.<\/p>\n<p>4. Perform a total of five abdominal thrusts, if needed. If the blockage still isn\u2019t dislodged, repeat the \u201cfive-and-five\u201d cycle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do You Know What to do if Someone Is Choking? How to Know if Someone Choking Needs Your Help The\u00a0universal sign for choking\u00a0is hands clutched to the throat. If the person doesn\u2019t give the signal, look for these indications: -Inability to talk -Difficulty breathing or noisy breathing -Inability to cough forcefully -Skin, lips and nails [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-first-aid-injuries-bites"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.webcoreweb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.webcoreweb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.webcoreweb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.webcoreweb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.webcoreweb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.webcoreweb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25927\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.webcoreweb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.webcoreweb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.webcoreweb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}