How should choking be managed in adults and children over 1 year?

How should choking be managed in adults and children over 1 year?

• A. Back blows only
• B. Cardiac massage
• C. Antibiotics
• D. Heimlich maneuver

Answer: (D)

For choking in adults and children over 1 year, the first-line response for a conscious person is the Heimlich maneuver, or abdominal thrusts, to dislodge the obstructing object. If the person is coughing forcefully and can speak, allow them to continue coughing, as this often helps clear the airway. When coughing stops or the person cannot speak, breathe, or cough effectively, perform abdominal thrusts: stand behind the person, wrap your arms around their waist, make a fist with one hand, place it just above the navel, grab the fist with your other hand, and thrust inward and upward with quick, inward jolts until the obstruction is expelled or the person becomes unresponsive. If the person is pregnant or morbidly obese, switch to chest thrusts instead of abdominal thrusts, placing hands on the center of the chest and delivering quick inward and upward thrusts. If the person becomes unconscious, call for help and begin CPR starting with chest compressions, and only check the mouth for a visible object and remove it if easily reachable. Do not perform a blind finger sweep. Antibiotics and routine cardiac massage are not appropriate for choking; antibiotics won’t resolve an airway obstruction, and cardiac massage is for cardiac arrest, not airway obstruction. The goal is to create enough air pressure to expel the object from the airway.

For choking in adults and children over 1 year, the first-line response for a conscious person is the Heimlich maneuver, or abdominal thrusts, to dislodge the obstructing object. If the person is coughing forcefully and can speak, allow them to continue coughing, as this often helps clear the airway. When coughing stops or the person cannot speak, breathe, or cough effectively, perform abdominal thrusts: stand behind the person, wrap your arms around their waist, make a fist with one hand, place it just above the navel, grab the fist with your other hand, and thrust inward and upward with quick, inward jolts until the obstruction is expelled or the person becomes unresponsive.

If the person is pregnant or morbidly obese, switch to chest thrusts instead of abdominal thrusts, placing hands on the center of the chest and delivering quick inward and upward thrusts.

If the person becomes unconscious, call for help and begin CPR starting with chest compressions, and only check the mouth for a visible object and remove it if easily reachable. Do not perform a blind finger sweep.

Antibiotics and routine cardiac massage are not appropriate for choking; antibiotics won’t resolve an airway obstruction, and cardiac massage is for cardiac arrest, not airway obstruction. The goal is to create enough air pressure to expel the object from the airway.