Do you know how to do the Heimlich maneuver?

I wish this was about some type of a joke about the heimlich maneuver but unfortunately its not.

We took our daughters to the local easter egg hunt on Saturday morning. Got home shortly after the egg hunt and my older daughter (3 years old) was belly up to the kitchen table wolfing down her easter candy. I watched her open one of those round peppermint hard candies they give out as breath mints at alot of restaraunts. Less than a minute later, she started choking. My wife and I thought she just swallowed wrong. After about 30 seconds we realized it was more than just swallowing wrong. She was starting to turn red and didn’t seem to be able to breath very well if at all. We waited for a little bit to see if she would just get over it. When she didn’t I patted her back a few times. This didn’t do anything. Then I tried the heimlich but didn’t really know what the heck I was doing. I thought my fist needed to go at the bottom of her sternum. I tried different spots about 5 or 6 times without success. I asked my wife what I should be doing different. She didn’t know. I tried a couple more times a little lower below her rib cage. Finally, that peppermint flew out of her mouth at least 3 feet. Talk about a sigh of relief. My daughter was pretty freaked and my wife was crying. I sure wish I would have remembered more about doing the heimlich from many years ago. Hopefully, you’ll never have to use this information.

Here is a few quick pointers from the American Heart Association. Please see the link for full details.

1. If you think a child is choking, ask the child “Are you choking?” If the child nods, ask “Can you speak?” If the child can’t speak, cough loudly, or cry, tell the child you are going to help. Stand firmly behind the child and wrap your arms around him or her that your fists are in front of the child.
2. Make a fist with one hand.
3. Put the thumb side of the fist on the child’s abdomen, slightly above the navel and well below the breastbone.
4. Grasp the fist with your other hand and fie quick upward thrusts into the child’s abdomen.
5. Give thrust until the object is forced out or the child becomes unresponsive.

Heimlich Maneuver

Scary stuff there Kirk, I am glad everything worked out and your daughter is OK. Next time I see you, ask me about the time Bear passed out with a piece of steak in his throat.

BZZSAW,

Glad to hear she made it through! Never give up!!!

And thanks for the reminder and info!!!

I used to teach first aid and cpr classes for the American Red Cross and this was included. I have never had to do the heimlich maneuver and hope not to. Good job keeping your cool and not freaking out when you didn’t succeed at first. I am guessing it was a pretty tense moment. You can even do this on yourself if no one else is around or fall onto the back of a chair on your abdomen.

Glad to hear everyone is okay!

I would bring her in to make sure there wasn’t any
damage done while trying to force it out.

Thanks for the link!

Those fruit snacks have gotten us a couple of times.

Good to know everything is alright with your daughter Way to keep your cool under pressure, that is the hardest part.

I would definitly bring her in to the doctor and have everything checked out, there is the possibility that you could have cracked ribs, or caused some minor damage while doing it.

good to hear everyones alright. maybe i should pay attention in health class during cpr week.

Good reminder to everyone. Only thing we don’t want to do is the “smack” on the back, this can cause the object to lodge deeper.

Also, on small children rather the H maneuver which can be tough due to their small size, just ball your fist, place it a few inches under the sternum. With your other hand, place on the back opposite the front hand. While supporting with the rear hand give a quite sharp push in a in and upward motion. The object should pop loose…I watched my nephew spit a hard candy acroos the room with the velocity of a 12G slug!

Glad to hear everything worked out.

BIRDDOG

I’m glad the little one is OK. Thanks for sharing, it’s a great reminder for me with two under the age of 3.

I had to perform this manuever on a co-workeer about two years ago. Great big guy who I could hardly get my arms around. He came into my office blue as could be grasping his throat. He’s about 63 years old so i was a little tenative the first pump and it didn’t do any good. The second one had a lot more authority. It worked. The guy was completely embarassed because of the mess it caused. I was scared to death of course.

Again, I’m glad the little on is OK!!!

I’ve worked in the restaurant industry for over 33 years, and have had to do the Heimlich 3 different times. 2 times everything ended up fine, the last time didn’t. It is very un-nerving to have to give it to someone.

Make sure you are below rib cage when doing the Heimlich. Broken ribs or a puntured lung might happen if your fist is in the wrong spot. A person choking in a restaurant will often run to the bathroom, follow them inside, mens or womens you can always get over being embarassed. trust me on that one I drink with BZZSAW.

Thanks guys. She’s doing great now. The whole thing probably lasted less than a minute and a half. I wish I could say I kept my composure. Once it was over, I was pretty fired up. It took her about 30 seconds to say she didn’t like those peppermint candies anymore. I do know that I’ll never forget how to do it again. And I definitely hope I never have to do it again.

Sandbar,
Thats pretty funny about Sorento (Quilling) – steak/mouth. But I might be guilty of falling asleep with Milk Duds in my mouth before.

I’m glad to hear that your daughter is OK. That same thing happened to my wife this last December while eating at a christmas party. I’ve never done the Heimlich before and it took me three attempts to expell the food. By the third try I was getting very worried. A person never knows when that type of thing will arise. It pays to read.