Conscious FBAO aka ‘Choking’

When a person is choking, every muscle in their body is working to remove the obstruction. More times than not, the person will be successful and EMS is not needed. If EMS arrives to the patient while choking is still a problem, EMS can help the patient remove the obstruction.

• Assisting the patient – EMS can help the patient just by being there and being supportive. Sometimes the patient just needs a little reassurance to get rid of the obstruction.
• Utilizing a Conscious Foreign Body Airway Maneuver:

Heimlich Maneuver

1. Get the person to stand up.
2. Position yourself behind the person.
3. Place your arms around their waist.
4. Make a fist and place it just above the navel, thumb side in.
5. Grab the fist with your other hand and push it inward and upward at the same time. Perform five of these abdominal thrusts.
6. Repeat until the object is expelled and the person can breathe or cough on their own.

Back Blows And Chest Thrusts (infants only)

Unconscious Foreign Body Airway Maneuvers

Since you can’t really tell the difference between a patient in cardiac arrest and a patient with a foreign body airway obstruction, start CPR. The good news is that the cure for foreign body airway obstruction is CPR. The force applied to the chest with chest compressions has the potential to push the obstruction out of the airway, thus clearing the airway with CPR.