How to Administer First Aid to a Choking Child

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Coughing, gagging and high-pitched, noisy breathing or the inability to make any sound at all indicate breathing difficulty and possible choking. Choking is a life-threatening emergency. Caregivers should suspect an infant is choking when he or she suddenly has trouble breathing, even if no one has seen the child put something into the mouth.

Steps

1. Let the coughing happen. If an infant or child is coughing, do not interfere – let her or him try to cough up the object. If the object does not release quickly, try to remove the object from the child's mouth.
   
2. Intervene if the object is still lodged in the child's throat:
   
   • For infants or small children:
     
     • Support the head and neck.
       
     • Turn the baby face down with the head lower than the feet.
       
     • Deliver five blows to the back between the shoulder blades.
       
     • Turn the baby face up and press firmly on the breastbone between the nipples five times.
       
     • Repeat until the object is dislodged.
       
     • If you cannot dislodge the object, take the child to the nearest health worker immediately.
       
     
     
   • For larger children:
     
     • Stand behind the child with your arms around the child's waist.
       
     • Form a clenched fist with your thumb against the child's body above the navel and below the rib cage.
       
     • Put the other hand over the fist and give a sharp inward and upward thrust into the child's abdomen.
       
     • Repeat until the object is dislodged.
       
     • If you cannot dislodge the object, take the child to the nearest health worker immediately.
       
     
     
   
   

Tips

• Play and sleeping areas should be kept free of small objects such as buttons, beads, coins, seeds and nuts.
  
• Very young children should not be given groundnuts (peanuts), hard sweets, or food with small bones or seeds.
  
• Young children should always be supervised during meals. Cut or tear children's food into small pieces.
  
• Put together emergency contact details and leave these somewhere easy-to-find. In the event of something going wrong, you know who to contact or go to without having to think about it.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Create a Home First Aid Kit
  

Sources and Citations

• The principal source of this article is UNICEF et al: Facts for Life - "Injury Prevention"
  

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