Stop Choking with the Heimlich Maneuver

The Heimlich Maneuver, is a first aid procedure for clearing an obstructed airway. A person performing the Heimlich maneuver uses their hands to exert pressure on the bottom of the diaphragm. This compresses the lungs and exerts pressure on any object lodged in the trachea, hopefully expelling it.

The Heimlich maneuver is named after Henry Heimlich, who first described it in 1974. Until 2005, the Heimlich maneuver was the recommended treatment for choking. However, even when performed correctly, the Heimlich Maneuver can injure the person it is performed on. Therefore it is now recommended to first apply backslaps; if that fails to remove the airway obstruction, then apply abdominal thrusts. (Abdominal thrusts being differentiated from the Heimlich maneuver by being performed in a way that does not injure the victim.)

The Heimlich Maneuver should never be performed on someone who can still cough, breathe, or speak. Instead bend them at the waist, head down, encourage them to cough, and deliver a series of thumps between their shoulder blades using a flat palm.

Indications that someone is choking:

• The person cannot speak or cry out.
• The person's face turns blue from lack of oxygen.
• The person desperately grabs at his or her throat.
• The person has a weak cough, and labored breathing produces a high-pitched noise.
• The person does any or all of the above, then becomes unconscious.