Quick-acting custodian uses Heimlich maneuver to save choking 1st-grader

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20140218/NEWS/140218593/1685#quick-acting-custodian-uses-heimlich-maneuver-to-save-choking-1st-grader

By Julie Anderson Published Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at 1:00 am / Updated at 1:26 am

A sudden crisis, a quick response.

And one very grateful family and a somewhat sheepish custodian.

Addison Hager, a first-grader at Westside's Sunset Hills Elementary, was finishing her lunch Feb. 10 when she stood up to walk to a trash can in the lunchroom. She was eager to get to recess.


Addy Hager was just finishing her lunch Feb. 10 at Westside's Sunset Hills Elementary when a piece of salami became lodged in her throat. Longtime custodian Orlando Stubblefield administered the Heimlich maneuver. He was recognized by the Westside school board Monday for his quick action.


But as she stood, a piece of salami lodged in her throat. Classmates noticed that she was choking and alerted Orlando Stubblefield, the school custodian, who was standing nearby.

FULL story at link.

[DetlefK]

1. How the Heimlich works:

1. Make sure, the front of the patient's torso can't move: Hug him very tight or place him chest-down on a table.

2. The shoulder-blades form a triangle. Mark that spot on the spine where the base of the triangle is.

3. A powerful slap with the flat hand, as hard as you can, at that spot.

4. There is always residual air left in the lung, because nobody bothers breathing out that hard to remove it. The slap will squeeze that air out of the lung and the pressure will force anything blocking the airway to come out.


DO NOT PAT HIM ON THE CHEST!
I've seen a nurse do this in a retirement-home and it only prolonged the choking.

[s-cubed]

2. Sorry, that is NOT how to do the Heimlich! It's only the first thing to try.

It is true that a sharp blow to the back can work. I did this with a much younger sister who was chocking on a piece of candy. but i had to do the actual Heimlich on my son, when he choked on a piece of meat.

First, ask the victim if they can breath. If the answer is no, try the back slap approach. if that does work, grab him from behind. Hold your hands together in a fist, just below the sternum. The sternum is the soft "bone" in the middle of the chest where the ribs come together. Push your fist sharply up and inward to push out air explosively, and hopefully dislodge the food. It's supposed to be possible to do it to oneself.

This is only my explanation: check out a reliable source for a better one. I've had to help a choking victim twice: you never know when you might need to help. Here is one link. Note that there are different approaches for infant, toddlers, and children. It's possible to injure a child.

http://m.wikihow.com/Perform-the-Heimlich-Maneuver