Discuss choking: Its causes, recommended first aid, and strategies for preventing it.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Sometimes a sip of a beverage or a tiny bit of food “slips down the wrong pipe.” The body’s first response is to cough, and quite often coughing clears the passage. When someone is truly choking, however, food has slipped into the trachea and completely blocked the air passageways. Thus the person cannot cough— or even breathe. Without oxygen, the person may suffer permanent brain damage within 5 minutes or may even die. For this reason, it is imperative that everyone learn to recognize the universal distress signal for choking (hands wrapped around the throat) and act promptly.
Because the larynx is in the trachea and makes sounds only when air is pushed across it, a person choking will be unable to speak. For this reason, to help a person who is choking, first ask “Can you speak?” If the person is coughing, breathing adequately, or able to speak, do not interfere. Whatever you do, do not hit him on the back as the particle may become lodged more firmly in his air passageway. If the person cannot speak or cough, shout for help and perform the Heimlich maneuver. Almost any food can cause choking, although some are cited more often than others: Chunks of meat, hot dogs, nuts, whole grapes, raw carrots, marshmallows, hard or sticky candies, gum, popcorn, and peanut butter. These foods are particularly difficult for young children (especially those four years of age and younger) to safely chew and swallow. Each year more than 10,000 children (14 years old or younger) in the United States choke; more than half choke on food. Every five days, a child in the United States chokes to death on food. An adult should be present and alert to the dangers of choking whenever young children are eating. To prevent choking, cut food into small pieces, chew thoroughly before swallowing, don’t talk or laugh with food in your mouth, and don’t eat when breathing hard