Choking Victim: The Heimlich Maneuver

[Music] oh [Music] you're in better shape than i am kath listen brad it's only a matter of mind body coordination you know well that's the case i bet i can beat you back home i don't think so [Music] kathy are you okay [Applause] are you choking hold on [Music] [Applause] [Music] kathy was lucky for every year nearly 4 000 americans choked to death men and women whose lives could have been saved by a simple technique the heimlich maneuver [Music] as a nation we've grown accustomed to rushing through meals [Applause] while we read the paper [Music] as we argue about football scores [Music] first thing in the morning okay we talk on the phone [Music] i'm dr henry heimlich when you stop to consider the way we eat it's small wonder that choking has become one of the leading causes of accidental death how does it happen and what can you do about it to answer those questions let's take a look at an actual case nearly every weekend frank ramirez has a groupover for a barbecue and a few beers [Music] it's become a tradition because they say nobody can fix a steak like frank cat [Music] hey frank how's it coming [Music] great [Music] hey what's the matter with frank oh he's okay give another beer ooh you tasted hey what's happening [Music] he's choking he's turning blue on the back that won't help i know what to do [Music] you okay wow i thought i bought the store [Music] what you've just seen is all too common an everyday family gathering a good time that can suddenly turn to tragedy in an emergency such as this there's no time to waste using methods which may be ineffective or even harmful for within just four minutes of the onset of choking a person may be dead or suffer permanent brain damage let's take a closer look at frank's case to see exactly what happened [Music] almost done they're gonna be great [Music] a large piece of food instead of passing into the stomach became lodged in the windpipe which carries air to the lungs the result asphyxiation caused by blockage of the airway now here are six simple signs to help you recognize a choking victim usually you know he's been eating he's unable to breathe or to speak he may deliberately clutch his throat to make the universally recognized sign that means i am choking his skin color may turn pale or flushed and then deep blue and if treatment is not immediate he will lose consciousness and collapse frank's friend became aware that he was choking and used the heimlich maneuver to save frank's life i'll demonstrate how to perform the maneuver on one of the guests this is jennifer jennifer will only expel this object if the heimlich maneuver is performed properly the rescuer must be positioned correctly and his fist placed on the right spot on the abdomen now watch stand behind the victim wrap your arms around the waist now feel for the bottom of the ribcage make a fist place the thumb side of the fist on the abdomen slightly above the navel and below the rib cage grasp your fist with your other hand and press into the abdomen with a quick upward thrust repeat the maneuver several times if necessary until air forced from the lungs expels the object remember don't squeeze or press on the chest because you might cause an injury that's why it's best to learn with jennifer bend your elbows and press your fist into the upper abdomen the resumption of breathing and the return of normal color indicates that the airway has been cleared now if the victim is seated you can still use the heimlich maneuver here the back of the chair provides a firm support and helps enhance the effect if the victim is in a booth in a restaurant or in an airplane seat simply turn it to the side and perform the maneuver in the usual manner normally there are no side effects except a new appreciation of what it means to be alive but if there is any question have the choking victim see a physician immediately of course there may not always be other people around when a person starts to choke [Music] surprise i finished the front line now should i do the back mrs price this is price [Music] this is price [Applause] what happened [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] are you all right mrs price yes i'll go get a chair [Music] you stay right here i'll go get my mom what you've just seen was based on an actual case history if it hadn't been for mrs price's good neighbor she might not have survived the boy who saved her life had learned the heimlich maneuver in a first aid class at school he immediately recognized the signs of a choking victim the food nearby her blue color the fact that she was not breathing and was unconscious he knew how to perform the heimlich maneuver on a victim who had collapsed he quickly rolled her onto her back with her head positioned upward he did not reach into her mouth to try to retrieve the food because too often the rescuer's fingers will drive an object deeper into the airway he knelt destroyed her hips located her rib cage and placed one hand on the other with the heel of his bottom hand on her abdomen slightly above the navel and below the rib cage then using the weight of his body he pressed into her abdomen with a quick upward thrust by the way this same technique is the first treatment to perform on a drowning victim to get the water out of the lungs before mouth-to-mouth resuscitation has begun even a small child like cindy here can perform the heimlich maneuver though her arms are too short to reach around an adult's waist when i put jennifer down on the floor cindy can bring the weight of her body to bear to force the object out go ahead cindy very good of course adults aren't the only victims of choking but even infants and small children can be saved by a slight variation of the basic maneuver here here jamie play with the choo-choo k here okay i gotta go study now [Music] wendy here is babysitting her sister's two-year-old but unfortunately she can't watch the child every moment [Music] jamie jamie jamie [Music] jamie are you okay oh you scared me after death you okay now you okay jamie's life was saved because wendy recognized at once that he was choking in fact whenever a child is not breathing and there are no signs of injury or other ailments you should assume he's a choking victim now notice what wendy did and didn't do she did not waste valuable time by turning the boy upside down to slap him between the shoulders instead she employed a variation of the heimlich maneuver which has proven effective for infants and children rather than using her fist as she would on an adult victim she used her middle and index fingers pressing into the boy's abdomen much more gently of course than on an adult this same procedure can be used in a sitting position we've seen how this simple technique can be used to save adults and children but what can you do if you're alone and start to choke on something it's common for many of us to eat alone and there are times when we're far away from anyone who could help us if we should begin to choke watch how this young lady solves the problem [Music] as you've just seen when a choking victim is alone the edge of a table or any horizontal surface can be used to force out the obstruction in the same situation you can even perform the standard heimlich maneuver on yourself you make a fist with one hand and position it slightly above the navel and below the rib cage then cover your fist with your other hand and press into the abdomen with a quick upward thrust repeating the action if necessary but so far we've been talking about treating the victim of choking and it makes sense to ask how do we prevent choking in the first place well to begin with always cut food into small pieces not a big hunk like this one then chew it thoroughly and slowly avoid talking or laughing while you're chewing and drinking alcohol increases the tendency to choke while eating if you start to choke and you're not alone stay where you are because there may be someone present who can help if like many choking victims frank had tried to hide his embarrassment by rushing to a lavatory his problem might not have been noticed until it was too late [Music] if you are choking there's a simple way to alert others to the fact just bring your hand to your throat i devised this sign because the choking victim cannot speak anyone seeing this sign should ask are you choking a positive knot of the head gives a 100 diagnosis in the case of children special precautions apply the play area should be carefully child proofed to make sure there are no small toys or other objects around which could end up in his mouth and a child should never be allowed to run with food or anything else in his mouth now let's review once more the basic signs that will help you recognize a choking victim old or young the victim usually has been eating she is unable to breathe or to speak she may clutch her throat giving the heimlich sign which means i am choking her skin color turns pale or flushed and then deep blue and lastly if treatment is not immediate she will lose consciousness and collapse once again the treatment for the choking victim is simple you wrap your arms around the victim's waist then feel for the bottom of the rib cage make a fist with one hand and place the thumb side against the victim's abdomen slightly above the navel and just below the ribcage then grasp your fist with the other hand and press into the victim's abdomen with a quick upward thrust repeat the maneuver several times if necessary until the obstructing object is expelled none of us can know when a choking emergency may strike because of this you owe it to yourself to master this simple technique for when choking occurs it's vital to remember that someone's life your life my life the life of those you care about is right here in your hands [Music] [Music] you