If You’re Alone and Choking: Act Immediately
If you cannot cough forcefully, speak, breathe, or make a normal sound, treat it as a life-threatening choking emergency.
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American Red Cross
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Call your local emergency number immediately. If you’re unable to speak, keep the call connected so the dispatcher can send help.
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American Red Cross
Give yourself abdominal thrusts: make a fist and place it just above your belly button. Grasp the fist with your other hand.
Bend forward over a firm surface, such as the back of a sturdy chair or countertop.
Drive your fist inward and upward with a forceful thrust. Repeat until the object comes out.
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Mayo Clinic
+1
Do not put your fingers into your throat blindly. A blind finger sweep can push the food farther into the airway.
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Red Cross Guidelines
If you can cough forcefully, keep coughing rather than immediately performing thrusts.
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Mayo Clinic
After the object comes out
It’s still sensible to get medical advice, particularly if you had forceful abdominal thrusts or continue to have coughing, difficulty breathing, chest/abdominal pain, trouble swallowing, or the feeling that something remains stuck.
If this is happening right now, stop reading and call emergency services.
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