St John Ambulance, the nation’s leading first aid charity has teamed up with the All About Family to bring you some simple, but life saving, first aid tips on dealing with a choking casualty.
If the casualty is a child or adult, follow these steps;
- If the casualty is breathing encourage them to cough to try to remove the obstruction themselves.
- If they can’t speak, cough or breathe, bend them forward. Give up to five sharp blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. Check their mouth, but do not do a finger sweep of the mouth.
- If choking persists, stand behind the casualty. Put both arms around them and put one fist between the navel and the bottom of the breastbone. Grasp your fist with your other hand, and pull sharply inwards and upwards up to five times. Recheck the mouth
- If after three cycles of back slaps and chest thrusts it still has not cleared, call 999/112 for emergency help. Continue the sequence until help arrives or the obstruction is cleared.
If the casualty is an infant, follow these steps;
- Lay the baby face down on your thigh supporting their head
- Give up to five back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand, check the mouth for any obstruction and remove, but don’t stick your fingers down the throat
- If the obstruction hasn’t cleared, turn the baby on their back. Place two fingers on the centre of the infant’s chest and push inwards and upwards sharply against the breastbone. Check the mouth for any obstruction and remove. Repeat up to five times
- If the obstruction doesn’t clear, repeat the backslaps and thrusts until the obstruction clears. If after three cycles it still has not cleared, call 999/112 for emergency help. Continue the sequence until help arrives.
For those looking for quick, easily accessible first aid information, the St John Ambulance app is available free on smartphones and the website (www.sja.org.uk) offers lots of free advice