Choking can happen at any place. The problem is caused by a clogged airway upon eating or a severe health condition. When an individual is choked, their breathing system is blocked, leaving them unable to respirate.
Calling Emergency Hotline Even If You Can't Speak
Being inflicted by a surprise choke can be distressing for many. However, the situation can escalate if an affected person is on their own.
Tiny Hearts Education, an Australia-based parenting organization, shared some tips to help ourselves in a choking scenario with limited resources at hand.
The organization's CEO, Nikki Jurcutz, explained the steps for individuals to save themselves without any available company to assist.
Jurcutz said that the inspiration behind her tips was a particular event in which her mother experienced a choking situation without any help available, The Sun reports. Every person must be aware of the unwanted scenario, as only four minutes remaining for a subject to breathe before passing out, she continued.
The first thing to attempt, according to Jurcutz, is to seek help from emergency authorities by calling their service hotline. In the United Kingdom, the 999 hotline number will direct the victim to personnel that will ask what department they are reaching for: ambulance, police, or fire service.
Since choking prevents us from talking, a simple trick can give the call handler a clue.
The emergency personnel will ask the caller to cough or tap their device after the first question is not answered. In addition, they will also require the caller to press "55." This protocol will tell the operator that the victim can not speak during the call.
After this phase, the emergency personnel will have their department track the victim's current location and dispatch an ambulance to the target area.
The coughing and tapping part is the most crucial part of the call. Failing to do so would make the operator assume that the caller left the line.
First Aid for Choking Without Available Help
After contacting the emergency services, Jurcutz said that coughing must be attempted to eliminate the blockage. First aid for choking is as follows:
- Place one fist on the part of the torso, between the belly button and the end of the ribs.
- Place the other hand on top of the first fist.
- Find an object with height at level with the fist, like the back of the chair, which would also let a leaning position over it.
- Without letting go of both hands from the position, push down the fist with the object's help.
Jurcutz mentioned that the affected person could attempt to go outside and get other people's attention.
The National Health Service (NHS) said that mild choking frequently allows people to remove the blockage themselves in an easy manner. Individuals who are choked should be encouraged to keep on coughing to keep the block displaced from its position.
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