Breathing Difficulty, Choking and Fainting

Breathing Difficulties

To help a person who has stopped breathing, first position the victim on her back. Take necessary precautions if you suspect the person may have sustained a back or neck injury. Tilt the victim's head so that her chin is pointing up by placing one of your hands under her neck. Lift up gently while you press down gently on the victim's forehead. Check to make sure that the victim's tongue is not blocking her throat.

Using the hand that is on the victim's forehead, pinch her nostrils shut to prevent leakage of air. Open your mouth wide, take a deep breath, and seal your mouth over the victim's mouth.

Blow two slow breaths into the victim.

If the victim does not begin to breathe on her own after the two breaths, continue to breathe into her mouth at the rate of one breath every five seconds, or 12 times per minute. Continue mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until help arrives. If the victim is an infant, you should breath gentle puffs of air at the rate of one every three seconds, or 20 times per minute.

If the victim has obviously lost her heartbeat, you should commence cardiopulminary resuscitation (CPR). Since this technique is more complicated and could result in injury if performed inproperly, receive training from a licensed practitioner before attempting it.

Choking is a life-threatening emergency. First, ask the victim if she is alright. This question is less to ascertain how the victim feels and more to gauge if the victim can speak, which would mean the food is not lodged in the windpipe; persist in asking until the victim verbalizes their answer or obviously cannot speak. Do not slap the victim on the back -- this may further lodge the food in the windpipe. The Heimlich Maneuver can be performed on victims who are either conscious or unconscious and can be performed on victims who are standing, sitting or lying down. You can even perform the maneuver on yourself.

For a victim who is standing:
Stand behind the victim and wrap your arms around the victim's waist. Grasp your hands in front of the victim; the hand that is resting against the victim's abdomen should be in a fist. Make sure that the fist is positioned between the tip of the breastbone and the navel.

With your hands tightly grasped, press your fist into the victim's abdomen, using a quick, upward thrust. The piece of food should come flying out of the victim's mouth with force. If it doesn't, repeat the thrusting motion several more times until the food is dislodged.

For a victim who is sitting:
Repeat the procedure as with a victim who is standing; stand behind the chair, and grasp the victim around the waist.

For a victim who is lying down:
Roll the victim onto his or her back. Kneel at the victim's side, straddle her hips, or straddle one of her thighs. Your position isn't that important: choose the one that is most comfortable and affords you the greatest strength.

Place one of your hands on top of the other; the heel of your bottom hand should be positioned between the top of the breastbone and the navel. Move forward so that your shoulders are directly above the victim's abdomen.

Press your hands forcefully into the victim's abdomen with a rapid, upward thrust. Repeat the thrusting until you can see the piece of food; you may have to remove it from the victim's mouth. Act quickly so that the victim doesn't breathe it in again.

For a victim who is a child:
Place the child on its back across your thigh. Using two or three fingers of one hand, position your fingers between the tip of the breastbone and the navel. With a quick, upward thrust, push your fingers into the child's abdomen. Don't use as much force as you would use with an adult.

To perform the maneuver on yourself:
Quickly locate a firm, rigid, preferably nonmoveable object that is about the height of your abdomen. Rest your abdomen across it so that it is positioned between the tip of your breastbone and your navel. You can use the edge of a counter, the edge of a table or the back of a chair. Quickly and forcefully press your weight downward so that the object works to thrust upward into your abdomen. Repeat this motion until the food is dislodged.

If you feel faint, immediately lie down; if you can't lie down, sit down and put your head between your knees. If you can, lie or sit in fresh, cool air. Stay in a head-down position for at least ten minutes. If someone does faint, help him or her to lie down in a comfortable position, prefereably with his/her head lower than the rest of the body. After regaining consciousness, rest in a lying-down position for at least ten minutes before resuming activity.