IF YOU START TO SUFFOCATE AND YOU’RE ALONE: WHAT TO DO TO SAVE YOUR LIFE
If you suddenly cannot breathe, speak, or cough effectively because food or another object is blocking your airway, act immediately. There is no guaranteed “one-second” trick, but knowing the correct technique can save your life.
1. Try to Cough Forcefully
If you can still breathe or cough, keep coughing hard.
Don’t waste time drinking water or trying to swallow more food to “push it down.”
If you cannot cough, speak, or breathe effectively, treat it as severe choking.
2. Call Emergency Services Immediately
If you have a phone within reach, call your local emergency number. Put it on speaker if possible.
If you can use your phone’s emergency/SOS function, activate it.
3. Perform Abdominal Thrusts on Yourself
Make one hand into a fist.
Place the fist just above your belly button and below your breastbone.
Grasp your fist with your other hand.
Then deliver quick, forceful thrusts inward and upward.
Repeat the thrusts until the object comes out or you become unable to continue.
4. Use a Firm Edge if You Can’t Get Enough Force
You can also use the edge of a sturdy countertop, table, or chair.
Position the upper abdomen against the edge—above the belly button and below the breastbone—and drive your body forcefully inward and upward against it.
Use a firm, stable surface that won’t collapse or tip over.
Avoid sharp edges.
5. If You’re Pregnant or Cannot Perform Abdominal Thrusts
Abdominal thrusts aren’t appropriate in the same way for someone who is pregnant or has a very large abdomen.
In those circumstances, chest thrusts may be used instead, with the hands positioned on the breastbone rather than the abdomen.
Emergency medical guidance is preferable whenever you can obtain it.
DON’T Do These Things
- Don’t blindly put your fingers down your throat.
- Don’t try to drink water while you’re severely choking.
- Don’t wait for the obstruction to resolve if you cannot breathe effectively.
- Don’t perform abdominal thrusts on yourself against a sharp or unstable object.
If You Become Unconscious
If the obstruction doesn’t clear and you lose consciousness, emergency services need to be contacted immediately.
If you regain consciousness after a severe choking episode, medical evaluation is still advisable, particularly if you have persistent coughing, breathing difficulty, chest pain, or the feeling that something remains stuck.
Remember
Cough if you can. Call for emergency help. If you’re unable to breathe effectively, use self-administered abdominal thrusts or chest thrusts as appropriate.
Knowing this technique before an emergency happens is far more useful than trying to learn it while choking.
