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Guidance

Choking is caused when a foreign object, like a hard lump of food, a marble or false teeth goes into the trachea instead of the oesophagus (food pipe).

Choking may be a life-threatening medical emergency, because the brain can only survive a few minutes without oxygen.

Call emergency services in an emergency.

Symptoms

Panicked and distressed behavior

Inability to talk in complete sentences or at full volume

Frantic coughing

Unusual breathing sounds, such as wheezing or whistling

Clutching at the throat

Treatment

Encourage the person to breathe and cough.

If coughing does not remove the blockage:

– Call emergency services

– Gain consent from the conscious person, so as to assist them

– Bend the person well forward and give five back blows with the heel of your hand between their shoulder blades

– Checking if the blockage has been removed after each blow

– If unsuccessful, give five chest thrusts by placing one hand in the middle of their back for support and the heel of the other hand on the lower part of their breastbone – checking if the blockage has been removed after each thrust

If the person becomes unconscious:

– Call or update emergency services and listen to the dispatchers information.

– Place the person on the ground and put them in the recovery position, with their head tilted downwards

– Remove any visible obstruction from the mouth