Why YSK:
Despite choking being an emergency, until recently there has been limited high-quality evidence to guide bystanders on the most effective way to help. Techniques like abdominal thrusts (formerly known as the Heimlich maneuver), back blows and chest compressions or thrusts have existed since the mid-1900s but, until recently, recommendations were largely based on case reports rather than rigorous scientific data. This evidence gap is dangerous.
Bystander response is the primary driver of a choking person’s outcome, so ensuring people know the safest and most effective way to care for a choking person can save lives.
Please see the article for the full piece, it’s not long.
Article authors:
- Cody Dunne - Emergency Medicine Physician and PhD Candidate, University of Calgary
- Andrew McRae - Associate Professor, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary
- Khara Sauro - Associate professor, Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, University of Calgary
If you need more motivation to open the article, here is an interesting fact:
New research suggests back blows cleared choking obstructions in 72 per cent of cases, superior to both abdominal thrusts (59 per cent) and chest thrusts (27 per cent).
I had a surreal experience once. I was at a busy, casual restaurant at a booth, sitting across from my wife. There was a lady eating alone at a booth a little way behind my wife, and I noticed she looked kind of distressed - looking around like she was trying to catch a waiter - but she seemed to be getting more panicked looking and her face didn’t look right. I got up and went over and said “Are you chocking?” and she looked at me with big eyes and nodded. I asked if she wanted me to try and help and she said yes and stood up. I never learned how to do the Heimlich except from TV shows, but seemed worth a try, so I did what I remembered, and she coughed up a piece of chicken. She looked really embarrassed and said “Thank you.” I said I was glad to help and went back to my seat. No one in the place noticed a thing except for my wife.
I have the exact opposite experience. I was waiting tables at place with a stage and 500 seats, lights are out, I notice a woman is choking and I went for the heimlich, successfully dislodged something as the house lights were brought on and 500 people are staring at us.
Oh, wow. What did people do, applaud?
Right after the comedian said “well that was fucking crazy”
I could not have gotten out of that room fast enough
What did the person you helped say?
Nothing at all. Likely in shock or embarrassed or something. Her daughter thanked me quite a bit and I asked if I could grab her a water or something, I grabbed her a water, still nothing, they left after the water
Funny enough a coworker told me “you’re not supposed to do the heimlich anymore”
Which is funny because in both your story and mine it worked.
Yeah, it’s effective, definitely more risk of damage apparently. Was kind of violent when i did it, larger shorter lady so I had to like pick her up in order to effectively pull in the right spot, I know there was probably bruising and whatnot.
I’ll end up starting with the back if I ever end up doing it again, but ol reliable will be there if I need it.
To be honest, I didn’t even think of anything else. I’d never done the Heimlich, wasn’t trained, it just seemed like the thing to try.
holy shit! pretty calm, glad it was chill, but you totally saved their life!!
Funny, when I sat back down, my wife just calmly said, “Did you just save that woman’s life?” It was weird, we just went back to eating and never really talked about it again except when someone would mention the Heimlich and my wife would tell the story.
That was too awkwardly casual of everyone. I would’ve at least given you a high five!
We’re such weird creatures. That woman was choking to death and she was too shy to ask for help and too embarrassed after to say much of anything.
Might have been shock on her part. I choked in a restaurant before on a peppermint and my mom saved me with abdominal thrusts but I was really shaken up afterwards from how scary it got and couldn’t really react much for a while afterwards
Same for the person I performed the heimlich on, I found it odd at the time and her daughter thanked me profusely, it was surreal. I also remember being terrified on hurting her as well as potentially being sued if I had, she was a bigger lady and really short so I had her like fully off the ground squeezing the absolute fuck out of her
What a world where I have to have that thought while trying to help
Yeah it’s quite the experience, you can’t breathe and that’s freaking you out and then you’re just airborne all the sudden and something flies out of you and then you suddenly aren’t dying anymore. It’s a trip but damn I’m glad my mom was able to react to it cos the choking part was horrifying. I’m sure the person you saved feels the same way that you were there to react to it, even if in the moment they seemed a bit dissociated.