Choking can be a very serious concern when you’re all by yourself. If there’s no one to help you, you can quickly end up in a life-threatening situation.
It’s important to know exactly what to do if this happens, and all the tricks that could possibly save your life.
The First Thing to do
The second you realize that you are choking and that you might not be able to free your airway by yourself, you should call 911. Even if you can’t speak, the operator should be able to hear that you are choking and send an ambulance. This could save your life.
The Newest Method to Stop Yourself From Choking
There’s a move for unclogging your airway and it is demonstrated by a longtime firefighter and paramedic in this video:
After twenty years of experience, he’s never actually seen an effective method for someone to rescue themselves if they’re choking. That’s why he’s come up with a new method from his years as a boxer.
The move essentially involves dropping to your knees and then leaning forward into a pushup position. Then you need to quickly throw your arms forward and let your chest fall to the ground.
This looks somewhat painful in the video and makes a rather loud noise. However, he assures us that this will forcefully push the air out of your chest and dislodge anything that might be caught.
You should only perform this move as a last resort measure and do so at your own risk. If you find yourself choking often, you should ask your doctor whether this move is entirely safe for you.
Other Methods to Stop Choking
The more simple solution is to simply pound your fist against your chest, or push your fist in and up just above your navel. This should work in most cases of minor choking, but may not always be sufficient.
A third option is to perform abdominal thrusts against a chair. To do this, just lean over the back of a chair and push the area just above your naval against it several times.
How to Prevent Choking in The First Place
Of course the best and least dangerous method is to avoid choking in the first place. People mostly choke on food, so the biggest part of not choking is being careful when you are eating.
Here are some things that you should avoid:
Talking while eating – this is easy to avoid if you are alone, but choking isn’t pleasant even when you are with people. So be careful while you are enjoying some good conversation over dinner.
Laughing while eating – don’t watch comedies when you’re eating alone.
Eating with no water nearby – sipping water while eating can often help clear any food that may be caught in your airway, so it’s a good idea to have a glass nearby.
Eating too quickly – we all lead busy lives, but it’s important to take your time while eating. When you eat slowly, it is less likely that little pieces of food will get caught in your airway. And you just might end up eating less.
If you do find yourself choking and have to use one of the techniques described above, you should see your doctor afterward to make sure you haven’t done any damage to your organs.
