Everyone should know this: what to do if you choke

“When I eat, I am deaf and dumb” – we heard such instruction from our parents all our childhood, when during dinner we began to laugh or tell some kind of story. Despite the fact that as people grow older, people become less active, this phrase remains relevant and many are familiar with the situation when their own sloppy behavior during meals turned into a piece of food stuck in the throat. Sometimes, in order to cope with this problem, it is enough to cough a couple of times and drink water, and sometimes this situation can pose a serious danger to life. Find out in the article what to do if you choke and how to help someone who is choking.

At the table, you must always follow the 3 main rules – do not chat, do not rush and chew food well, otherwise you risk provoking a very unpleasant situation.

Just don't panic: what to do if you choke?

Can you cough?

First, try coughing, depending on whether you can do it, there are two options:

1. You can cough – cough, while not restraining yourself, because this is a natural reaction of the body to a foreign body in the airways. For the best effect, try to lean as low as possible and rest your palms on your hips. After you clear your throat well in this position, everything should pass.
2. Can't cough – move quickly to the next item.

Is anyone nearby?

If at this moment you were not yourself – You are lucky and the person next to you can use 3 options to help the choking person:

1. Call an ambulance.
2. Use the Heimlich maneuver. To help a choking person, the rescuer needs to stand behind him and press against him with his whole body. With one hand, you need to grab the victim below the ribs, while the palm, clenched into a fist, should be slightly above the navel. The palm of the other hand needs to clasp this fist. After that, you need to make a sharp pressure on the abdominal cavity of the victim and repeat this several times.
3. Another way to help a choking – throw him over the knee or the back of the chair and slap him hard between the shoulder blades. It takes about 5 claps.

If you are alone – do not panic! Clench your fists, strongly and sharply press them above your navel, approximately in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe solar plexus. This action must be repeated several times. As an option – lean on the back of a bed or chair in the same place.

What to do if you choke on a fish bone?

Large bones get stuck in the throat much less often than small ones, so if a small bone is stuck in the throat, you should try to push it inside. To do this, you can drink water or eat a piece of bread, as an option – rinse your mouth with an antiseptic (chlorhexidine).

If the bone managed to pierce into the soft tissues of the pharynx and larynx, the main thing – do not try to extract it yourself or with the help of relatives – so you risk earning a mucosal injury. It is better to trust specialists to avoid various consequences.

If the foreign body was successfully removed from the throat, but the feeling of discomfort does not leave you – take a warm shower. This will help relax the muscles of the respiratory tract.