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What Should I Do If I Get Stuck In My Throat? ——Come Learn The Heimlich First Aid Method Quickly

2025-9-22


Accidents hide in every inconspicuous corner of life, just like the small matter of eating, we occasionally choke. When we are lucky, we cough twice and the foreign object will come out on its own, which can relieve the discomfort on its own. But sometimes it's not so lucky, foreign objects getting stuck in the respiratory tract can easily cause difficulty breathing or even suffocation. In fact, this kind of problem not only occurs in daily life when eating, but also in infants and young children who are curious about things around them. Adults may occasionally pick up small items around them and throw them into their mouths without paying attention, which can easily lead to such problems. When such accidents occur, we always get flustered and delay the best time for treatment. If we master the Heimlich first aid method, we can extend a helping hand in a timely manner when someone suddenly gets stuck in the throat with a foreign object, reducing the probability of breathing difficulties or even suffocation, and truly saving people in danger.

First of all, we need to know what "throat blockage" is? Throat blockage "refers to the sudden occurrence of coughing, difficulty breathing, and a bluish complexion caused by foreign objects getting stuck in the throat; Unable to produce sound or can only produce weak sound; Grasping the throat area indicates discomfort. Once these symptoms are detected, emergency measures should be taken immediately.

What is Heimlich's first aid method? The Heimlich Maneuver is an emergency technique developed and invented by American doctor Mr. Heimlich. It was named after him by the American Medical Association in 1975 and is mainly used for on-site emergency treatment of airway foreign body obstruction. The Heimlich maneuver is a first aid method that uses residual gas in the lungs to create an airflow and flush out foreign objects. This method is mainly used in cases of acute respiratory foreign body blockage, as when the airway is blocked, the patient is unable to breathe, which may lead to hypoxia and accidental death. According to different adapted populations and methods, there are three types: Heimlich abdominal impact method, infant Heimlich impact method, and self rescue abdominal impact method.

(1) The Heimlich abdominal impact method is suitable for the vast majority of adults. The rescuer stands behind the patient, wraps their arms around the patient's waist, makes a fist with one hand, and places the eye of the fist on the two horizontal fingers above the navel. The other hand grabs the fist and quickly impacts upwards, repeating the above technique until the foreign object is expelled.

(2) Infant Heimlich's method, applied to infants and young children: In emergency situations, when infants and young children experience suffocation, we need to take prompt action to help them eliminate airway obstruction. Firstly, pick up the baby with their face down and let their body rest firmly on the adult's knee. Then, gently pat the baby's back 5 times with one hand, which helps stimulate the baby to cough and expel foreign objects. Next, flip the baby to the front and use two fingers (index and middle) to apply pressure on the lower half of the baby's sternum, pushing inward 5 times. Repeat this process until the baby is able to breathe on their own or emergency personnel arrive at the scene.

(3) Self rescue abdominal impact method, suitable for self rescue. Patients can use both their own hands and surrounding objects (such as chair backs or table edges) to press against the position above their central belly button, and then quickly and forcefully squeeze until the foreign object blocking the airway is expelled and normal breathing is restored.

The Heimlich emergency method is crucial. If encountered in daily life, the Heimlich emergency method can save the patient's life in a timely manner before the arrival of the 120 ambulance, without delaying the best time for rescue. After the patient's foreign body is expelled, we need to observe whether the patient's complexion, lip color, and respiratory tract are rosy, and then promptly go to the hospital for follow-up treatment.

The above pictures are all from the internet

references

[1] Yang Qing, Li Zhonghui Emergency nursing of asphyxia patients undergoing modified Heimlich maneuver in interventional embolization [J]. Chinese Journal of Critical Care Nursing, 2023, 4 (01): 46-48

[2]. What is Heimlich's first aid method? [J]. Life and Disaster, 2019 (07): 47

[3] Li Jiayu, Xu Xibin Learn the Heimlich First Aid Method to prevent problems before they occur. Home Technology, 2023 (05): 10-11.

[4] Ranjous, Y, AlBalkhi, A, Alnader, I, et al. Knowledge and misconceptions of selection and first aid procedures on Syrian adults: Across sectional studies. SAGE Open Med. 2024; 1220503121241249399.