Choking happens when food or another object blocks the airway and prevents normal breathing. It is a medical emergency because the brain and body need a steady supply of oxygen to work. Students can help by staying calm, recognizing the signs, calling for help, and using safe first aid steps.
Knowing what to do can turn a scary moment into a prepared response.
Key Facts
- Universal choking sign: hands held at the throat, panic, coughing, or inability to speak.
- If the person can cough strongly, encourage coughing and do not give abdominal thrusts.
- If the person cannot breathe, speak, or cough, call emergency services right away.
- For a conscious choking adult or child over 1 year old, give 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts, then repeat if needed.
- Abdominal thrust position: make a fist above the navel, grab it with the other hand, and pull inward and upward.
- If the person becomes unresponsive, begin CPR if trained and continue until emergency help arrives.
Vocabulary
- Choking
- Choking is a blockage of the airway that makes it hard or impossible for air to reach the lungs.
- Airway
- The airway is the path that air follows through the mouth, throat, windpipe, and into the lungs.
- Back blows
- Back blows are firm hits between the shoulder blades used to help dislodge an object from the airway.
- Abdominal thrusts
- Abdominal thrusts are quick inward and upward pushes on the upper abdomen to force air upward and help clear a blockage.
- Emergency services
- Emergency services are trained responders, such as paramedics or firefighters, who provide urgent medical help.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Giving abdominal thrusts when the person is coughing strongly is wrong because a strong cough can clear the airway more safely on its own.
- Slapping the person on the back while they are standing upright without proper positioning is wrong because it may not direct force effectively and can waste time.
- Reaching blindly into the mouth is wrong because it can push the object deeper into the airway or injure the person.
- Waiting to call for help is wrong because choking can become life threatening quickly if the airway stays blocked.
Practice Questions
- 1 A choking student receives cycles of 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts. How many total first aid actions are given after 3 full cycles?
- 2 Emergency help is 6 minutes away. If one cycle of 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts takes 20 seconds, how many full cycles could be attempted before help arrives?
- 3 A student is coughing loudly after food goes down the wrong way, but they can still breathe and talk. Explain what a helper should do and why abdominal thrusts are not the first step.