With the habit of putting objects in their hands into their mouths, many young children choke foreign objects in their airways. If not handled promptly, it will have serious consequences. Although it is a very common accident in young children, not many parents know proper first aid.

When a child, infant, or adult has a foreign object stuck in their airway, it is an emergency, especially if the person is unable to cough. This problem often occurs, especially in children who eat foods such as pearls in milk tea, jelly, fruits with small seeds such as longan or apples, eating, talking, joking, watching the phone, TV, etc. not focussing whilst eating. Or older people who have some problems related to chewing and swallowing are also likely to swallow foreign objects.

Treatments for food and foreign objects entering the airway

Normally, if a foreign object gets into the airway, the following developments will occur and you need to have appropriate first aid treatment

>>> Watch video instructions on how to handle foreign objects stuck in the airway

>>> Instructions for handling foreign objects in the airway via the SSVN First Aid app

The victim can cough on their own

Encourage the victim to lean forward and continue to cough forcefully

When the victim coughs, it means that there is a foreign object in the airway, which causes the body to have a cough reflex to open the airway flap and push that object out. This is a good case, which means they can still cough. There is no need to hit their back and you don’t need to do anything. We just encourage them to lean forward and continue to cough vigorously.

If the victim cannot cough on their own

In worse cases, the victim cannot cough. If the airway flap is completely blocked, then it shows that they will want to cough but cannot make a sound and cannot create an effective cough. At this time, they may turn pale and can change from red to purple. We must give them first aid.

Use the heel of your hand to hit their back upwards in between the two shoulder blades. Hit 5 times

Press the front center of the chest 5 times

At this point, bend them forward and use the heel of your hand to hit their back in between their two shoulder blades 5 times so that the foreign object may move a little about 1-2 mm so that the victim can help themselves. If they still cannot cough, we alternately press the front center of the chest 5 times and hit the back 5 times until the victim can cough then we stop.

The victim could not cough on his own and gradually lost consciousness

In the case where we have hit the back and pressed the chest but the victim still cannot cough, after a while they will collapse. At this point, we will let them lie down on the floor and observe their progress.

If their eyes are still open, we are pressing down on their chest, in the hope of helping the object move 1-2 mm so that the victim begins to have a cough reflex. If the victim coughs, we immediately let them lie on their side so they continue to cough the object out.

If the victim still cannot cough and becomes unconscious, we still let them lie flat on the floor and we start CPR. Place the heel of your hands between the chest to press down towards the heart, 2 beats every second until they can cough.

>>> Guide to implementing Cardiovascular Revival (CPR) through the SSVN Emergency App.

With this right way, we will usually be able to save people with airway object food.

Procedures for handling foreign objects in the airway WRONG

The first 4 minutes after a person has a choking defect is the golden time to minimize the level of damage to them. However, many parents still maintain incorrect first-aid habits, making their children’s condition more serious. Some first aid methods for foreign objects stuck in the airway are WRONG and absolutely should not be applied:

• When the victim has a cough reflex, we often follow our instinct and immediately pat them on the back. This can be more harmful, especially when they are inhaling. When we punch them in the back, we can accidentally push a foreign object under the airway flap.
• When the child opens his mouth, he sees an object in his throat and thinks he can pull it out with his finger. This is very dangerous, it can accidentally cause the foreign object to go deeper under the airway flap.

You can participate in online learning or practice first aid operations for people with food stuck in their airways at SSVN Survival Skills, detailed information and registration at: elearning.survivalskills.vn