I had a bit of a scare tonight. Izzy choked on a piece of food. A rather harmless looking homemade chip but it got quite stuck and she became upset and I will fully admit that I just flat out panicked. Andrew gave her some back blows and after a long 15 seconds or so she was able to talk and breathe yet it was still lodged and eventually after what seemed like forever but was more like 2-3 minutes she threw up. She was teary and white as a sheet and I felt awful. Because it had struck me in that moment that I didn’t really know what to do.
Andrews was clearly worried too but he carried on and dealt with it in the right manner and maybe Izzy would have just cleared it out on her own but that what if I’d been alone thought lingered in my head.
Yes I keep up to date with all the usual info you get regarding what your child should or shouldn’t be eating.. What toy products are no longer safe and Izzy always wears a helmet whilst out on her bike yet what if by not knowing a simple piece of advice I was unknowingly putting my child’s life at risk?
I stopped what I was doing…which was eating my own food as it goes and read the NHS guidelines from start to finish. And then I read them again.
Now I’m going to briefly highlight what you are supposed to do for babies and young children but once you have read this I really do urge you to go to the NHS site or a similar website with safe advice and read it all. Memorise it because when these things happen you literally have seconds to act.
Don’t let yourself feel as guilty and panicked as I did today.
How to help a choking child:
If you can see the object, try to remove it but do not poke blindly with your fingers. You could be pushing the object in further.
If your child is coughing loudly, don’t do anything. Encourage them to carry on coughing and don’t leave them.
If your child’s coughing is silent or they can’t breathe in properly, shout for help immediately and decide whether they’re still conscious.
If your child is conscious but they’re either not coughing or their coughing is not effective, use back blows.
Back Blows for Babies ( under 12 months ):
Fully support the child in a head downwards position. Gravity can sometimes dislodge the object. To make this easier you can sit or kneel and support the child on your lap.
Don’t compress the soft tissues under the jaw as this will make the obstruction worse.
Give up to five sharp back blows with the heel of one hand in the middle of the back between the shoulder blades.
If this is not effective and your baby is still conscious you should carry out chest thrusts:
Support the baby on your arm, which is placed down (or across) your thigh as you sit or kneel.
Find the breastbone, and place two fingers in the middle.
Give five sharp chest thrusts (pushes), compressing the chest by about a third.
Back Blows for Children ( 1year plus ):
Try to ensure your child is positioned head down.
Put a small child across your lap as you would a baby.
If this isn’t possible, support your child in a forward-leaning position and give the back blows from behind.
Give up to five sharp back blows with the heel of one hand in the middle of the back between the shoulder blades.
If this is not effective but your child is still conscious then try abdominal thrusts:
Stand or kneel behind your child. Place your arms under the child’s arms and around their upper abdomen.
Clench your fist and place it between the navel and ribs.
Grasp this hand with your other hand and pull sharply inwards and upwards.
Repeat up to five times.
Make sure you don’t apply pressure to the lower ribcage as this may cause damage.
In either case of chest or abdominal thrusts if it has not dislodged the object call for help immediately and continue back blows/thrusts. Don’t leave your child.
If the object is dislodged during thrusts still obtain medical help as you may have hurt your child during the procedure.
An Unconscious Choking Child:
If a choking child becomes unconscious, put them on a firm, flat surface.
Call out loudly or send for help.
Don’t leave the child.
Open the child’s mouth. If the object is clearly visible and you can grasp it easily, then remove it. Again do not poke blindly.
Start CPR.
I haven’t listed all of the guidelines on how to perform CPR but I encourage you to read that also – it’s quite long but an essential read.