Heimlich maneuver

[donsrods]

My Son Don choked on a piece of steak the other night but saved himself from an almost certain death by performing the Heimlich maneuver on himself. He had just taken a manditory first aid class for his job, and they covered how to do it, so he kept his cool, put his two fists together, and hit himself in the right spot which popped out the piece that was lodged in his throat.

I had exactly the same thing happen at a party about 20 years ago. I ate a piece of chicken and suddenly it was stuck in my throat. No one at the party knew what was going on, so I did the Heimlich on myself and out came the chicken. I was as white as a ghost and everyone was asking me what was wrong. I said "I almost died over there!"

Don has now taught his family to use sign language if they are ever in that situation to alert others what is happening, and they have all practiced doing the maneuver. I just thought I would pass this along because it happens more often than we think, and we should know what to do in case it does.

I could have lost one of my Sons the other night, thank God he knew what to do to save himself.

Don

 

[CR55]

Glad someone was watching over your son...great piece of advice cause you never know when it might happen to you!

 

[pistolpete]

Glad to hear everything is alright. I have seen a few times in restaurants where someone is choking, luckily there seems to be someone with them that knows what to do. I actually had my daughter choke on an peice of apple when she was about 18 months old, luckily I didnt have to do the heimlich, as I grabbed her I think I startled her and it popped out on its own, very scary never the less.

 

[donsrods]

Wow, with a child that would be extra scarey. They are too young to know what is going on. They say hot dogs are one of the most common ones that can choke you, and recommend cutting them up lengthwise or something like that for kids to eat.

We never think something like this can happen, but here are two of us in the same family that have had it happen to them.

Don

 

[geezer]

i had to help a feller bout bout 3 months ago. he was walkin down the sidewalk towards me slobberin all over himself. i jumped up and ask if he was choakin. he nodded his head. this guy was near to pass out.i turned him around and went to work on him. it took 3 hard shots to get it out but,,,hes still with us. thats the first time ive used the heimlich...it worked !!!

 

[donsrods]

Very cool that you knew what was happening and knew what to do. You saved a life, Bud, good for you. It was also good you asked him if he was choking and he was able to respond, that is the usual problem, people think stuff like heart attack or something else, and the person choking can't tell them what is really happening.

That would be a horrible way to die.


Don

 

[Tripper]

Funny you mention this! One of the girls at our office just had to do this to herself last week. She was alone at the time & it scared her bad! Be careful & learn how to do it... you never know when it'll save yours or someone else's life!

BoB

 

[TiredIronGRB]

Did it with a child once, she was choked on a Doritos...she choked so bad it ruptured blood vessels in her checks. The chunk of Doritos flew across the room.

 

[gassersgarage]

Every year when I was on the department, we had to go through first aid and cpr course to keep our certification. I knew the instructor had made copies of the video and handed them out to the family.