by [ Faëry ]
Imagine you are having breakfast with your parents one morning. You are happily eating your Fruit Loops when you see your little sibling starting to choke. What will be your first reaction? Please, don't grab him/her by the ankles and shake him/her head down, that won't help! Instead, here is a short tutorial on how to react if you find yourself in such a situation.
First of all, as long as the person is able to breathe and cough, DON'T DO ANYTHING! Slapping the person in the back might force the piece lower down and block the entire respiratory system. Instead, place yourself in front of the victim, put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and encourage her to cough. If it's a stranger, start by presenting yourself.
If the victim stops breathing, you have to take action. Place yourself BEHIND the victim and puts your arms around her waist (see image 1). Place your thumbs on her hips and from there, position your index fingers on her stomach. This way, you can place your hands at the right height to start doing “Heimlich pushes”. First, place your right fist where your indexes join (or between them if the don't), then put your left hand over and push, making a “J” gesture (see image 2). If the victim is overweight or pregnant, place your hands a little higher. Don't be afraid to hurt the victim, I think she'd rather throw up and survive than die from lack of air!
image 1
image 2
Keep doing those pushes until your victim either starts to breathe again (or throws up, or starts coughing again, in which case you come back to the first situation), or falls unconscious. If she falls unconscious, call the ambulance and look for a person who knows the rest of the maneuvers. We will see those next month.
image3