Choking is when someone can't breathe because food, a toy, or other object is blocking the airway (throat or windpipe).
Alternative Names:
Heimlich maneuver - adult or child over 1 year
Considerations:
A choking person's airway may be completely or partially blocked. A complete blockage is an urgent medical emergency. A partial blockage can quickly become life threatening if the person can not properly breathe in and out.
Without oxygen, permanent brain damage can occur in as little as 4 minutes. Rapid first aid for choking can save a life.
Causes:
Eating too fast, failing to chew food well enough, or eating with improperly fitted dentures
Alcohol consumption (even a small amount of alcohol affects awareness)
Unconscious or stuporous persons may inhale vomited material
Small objects inhaled by young children
Trauma to the head and face (swelling or blood can cause choking)
Symptoms:
The universal distress signal for choking is grabbing the throat with the hand.
Other danger signs include:
Inability to speak
Weak, ineffective coughing
Noisy breathing or high-pitched sounds while inhaling
Difficulty breathing
Bluish skin color
Loss of consciousness if blockage is not cleared
Review Date: 1/16/2007
Reviewed By: Eric Perez, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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Injury/Emergency
