Infants and toddlers can choke on anything that can fit through a loo roll, which is why it is important to prevent choking by ensuring that all small objects are kept out of reach, food are cut up into tiny pieces and that small children are supervised while they are chewing, especially when they are under the age of five.
For the purpose of First Aid, a child is seen as anyone aged 1 to 18 years.
Here are some tips to follow when a child is choking:
- Stay Calm
You, as parent, teacher or supervisor need to stay calm, because if you don’t, the child will also refuse to stay calm.
2. Ask them to cough
If the child is old enough to understand what you are asking, ask them to cough. Doing this will often release whatever is stuck in their throats.
3. Give them a firm back blow
If coughing doesn’t dislodge the object, bend the child forward, with one hand supporting their chest. With your other hand, us the flat side of your hand to give them a firm blow to the back right between the shoulder blades, and check to see if the blockage has cleared before giving a second blow.
5. Abdominal Thrusts
If five blows between the shoulder blades didn’t work, begin with abdominal thrusts. Stand behind the child and put one fist between the bottom of their stomach and their rib cage. Use your other hand to pull up and under in a J-shaped motion to remove the obstruction. Do this up to 5 times, each time checking if the obstruction has been removed
6. Call an ambulance
If al of the above doesn’t work, it is time to call emergency services. Children are precious, and we shouldn’t take any unnecessary risks with their lives.
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