Situations can sometimes take you by surprise or let us say an unpleasant surprise! What do you do when you see a baby choking on a piece of food morsel or some other foreign object? Let us look at the situation from different angles.
If the baby is coughing or is making sounds, let him/ her do so. This may help the baby throw out the foreign object out of the body. Do not insert your finger inside the mouth to try and retrieve the object. This may endanger the baby’s life.
If the baby is not able to breathe or cough, or make sounds, then you would need to follow some important steps urgently.
- Sit down and hold the baby
- Place the baby on your forearm, facedown, ensuring the head of the baby is lower than his/ her chest.
- Support the head on your palm, against your thigh. Do not move the neck in a twisting manner. Also, ensure you do not cover the mouth of the baby.
- Using the heel of your hand, you will have to give 5 back slaps between the shoulder blades of the baby. See picture below
- If the foreign object does not dislodge and come off the mouth, carefully support the head of the baby and turn him or her on your thigh, keeping the head lower than the rest of the body.
- Place 2 fingers just below the nipple line (on the breastbone of the baby) and proceed to give 5 Chest thrusts, like in CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation).
- Continue to give 5 back slaps and 5 chest thrusts till the foreign object comes off the mouth.
- In case the baby faints, call Emergency services. In this case,stop back slaps or chest thrusts and start CPR. Each time you look to clear the airway, look for the foreign object, and if you do trace it, try and take it off the mouth. But if you don’t see it, do not try to place your fingers inside the mouth of the baby to find it.
- Keep doing CPR till the kid starts to breathe normally or Emergency services arrive.
The author represents myicetag.com which helps you prepare for medical emergencies with the use of Medical ID tags. Be it for adults or kids, or for your favorite pets, these Medical ID bracelets, keychains or pet tags can help save lives in an emergency.