Notes
- Grabbing at the throat with one or both hands
- Inability to speak; high-pitched crowing sounds
- Wheezing, gagging, ineffective coughing
- Determine that the airway is obstructed. Ask, “Are you choking? Can you speak?”
- Let the person know you are going to help.
- Stand behind the choking person and wrap your arms around the person’s waist. For someone who is obese or pregnant, wrap your arms around the chest.
- Make a fist. Place the thumb side of your fist in the middle of the person’s abdomen, just above the navel. Locate the middle of the sternum for obese or pregnant persons.
- Grasp your fist with your other hand.
- Press your fist abruptly into the person’s abdomen using an upward, inward thrust. Use a straight chest thrust back for someone who is obese or pregnant.
- Continue abdominal or chest thrusts until the object is dislodged or the person loses consciousness.
- If the person loses consciousness, treat as an unconscious adult or a child with an obstructed airway.
