By Jointra Editorial Team, Certified EMT
Choking is the fourth leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. Food is responsible for the vast majority of cases in adults; small objects are the primary culprit in children. The good news: a simple abdominal thrust technique can dislodge a foreign body airway obstruction in seconds.
Mild (partial) obstruction: The person can cough, speak, or breathe. Encourage forceful coughing. Do not interfere — their own cough is more effective than any intervention.
Severe (complete) obstruction: The person cannot cough, speak, or breathe. They may point to their throat, have a high-pitched or silent cough, turn blue, or lose consciousness. Act immediately.
1. Stand behind the person and wrap your arms around their waist 2. Make a fist with one hand and place it thumb-side against the abdomen, midline, just above the navel and well below the breastbone 3. Grasp your fist with the other hand 4. Deliver firm, quick inward-and-upward thrusts 5. Repeat until the object is expelled or the person loses consciousness
If the person loses consciousness: lower them to the ground, call 911, and begin CPR. Each time you open the airway to give breaths, look in the mouth — if you see an object, remove it.
Do NOT use abdominal thrusts — they can injure the infant's organs.
1. Support the infant face-down on your forearm, head lower than chest 2. Deliver 5 firm back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand 3. Flip the infant face-up on your other forearm 4. Deliver 5 chest thrusts (two fingers on center of chest, just below nipple line) 5. Alternate back blows and chest thrusts until object is expelled or infant loses consciousness
If you are alone and choking:
If abdominal thrusts were used, the patient should be evaluated by a physician — internal injury is possible even when the obstruction is cleared.