Choking - Back blows

1.Give back blows to a choking child who is conscious but has no cough or if the cough is not good enough. Back blows induce an artificial cough which attempts to dislodge the foreign body. These can be done comfortably from a sitting down position.
2.Support the child/infant on your arm face down, with the head slightly lower than the rest of the body. The legs should be straddling your arm near the elbow. You may place a small child (over one year) across your laps. Support the head by placing the thumb of your hand at the angle of the lower jaw and one or two fingers from the same hand at the same point on the other side of the jaw. Take care not to press the soft tissues of the neck with the other fingers as this will make the situation worse.
3. Locate the shoulder blades on the back and deliver up to five sharp back blows in between the shoulder blades, using the heel of your hand. Your aim is to dislodge the foreign body rather than give all five back blows. Check after each blow to see if the foreign body has dislodged.
4. If this does not work and the infant/child is still conscious, try giving chest thrusts.

Attribution: Avallain

See also:

• Signs of choking
• Coughing child
• Chest thrusts
• Abdominal thrusts

Illustrations

• How to give back blows to an infant

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