Understanding the use of CPR in choking emergencies

The food you eat goes into a dedicated pipe that carries it to the stomach. The air also enters the mouth and has the windpipe taking it to the lungs. But, food or foreign particles make their way to the windpipe and block the air passage. It causes a gag reflex in the body, and you may end up choking. It seems like an ordinary occurrence to many people, but choking could prove fatal if left unchecked.

Older adults and children are prone to choke as they eat too fast or have less control over hand movements. Through this article, you will learn about first aid. It also talks about the use of CPR in choking. You should take CPR certification online to safeguard your loved ones against this health hazard.

Topics covered in First Aid

Suppose you wish to help yourself and others during minor accidents and life-threatening situations. Taking a first aid course is your best option. It teaches you to face the following issues with the proper technique.

1. Cuts and Wounds: Getting minor scratches is an everyday occurrence for children and office goers. As parents and co-workers, you should be able to help them during this time. First aid teaches you about using over-the-counter medicines and bandages for this issue.
2. Poisoning: Many bugs, reptiles, and plants carry poison as a defense and hunting mechanism. People could get bit, and the poison travels fast to the heart. Poisoning could prove fatal if not treated on time.
3. Trips and Fall: Your workspace may have loose wires that pose a falling hazard. Even children and elders often fall over stairs leading to injury. A first aid course helps the person with the best body position to provide comfort.
4. CPR: Every first aid course teaches CPR to its students. A CPR certification helps you in helping a cardiac arrest patient. If you also learn AED, you increase your chances of saving someone with this ailment.

What causes choking? 

Two types of choking could happen to a body. The body fights a choke by throwing up food and gasping for breath. A blockage of the windpipe leads to choking.

1. Partial Choking: In this type of choke, the person can breathe, but their airway becomes constricted. They have enough strength to cough and cry for help. Their breathing may sound noisier and different. Most people with partial choking can clear their block by coughing and do not need assistance.
2. Severe Choking: A person undergoing a server choke cannot cry or cough. These people may start turning blue in the nail beds. Severe choking occurs when the obstruction is too significant to dislodge. If someone doesn’t get help in time, they lose consciousness. Such people may require CPR as well to survive.

With children and older people, you should remember the objects that may cause choking.

1. Small Toys: Toys parts like Lego pose a high choking hazard. These tiny parts get stuck in the airway and cause partial or severe choking. Children are curious beings and try to put everything in their mouths.
2. Small Food: Mothers often cut fruits and vegetables small so that children can put them in their mouths. These children usually suck in the small food particles and choke. Most toddlers are yet to learn the synchronization between breathing and chewing.
3. Fast Eating: Adults always have less time and try to rush through their meals. Eating too fast often results in choking, and you throw the food. Children learn by example and also build the habit of eating fast. It often causes them to choke on their food.

Types of CPR

The age of a patient receiving CPR decides its classification. The three types of CPR are adult, child, and infant. These techniques deliver the same result but differ in the application as below.

1. Adult CPR: The chest compressions given in this CPR need both palms. You should put at least 2 inches of pressure per compression. It would help if you delivered vital breaths to the patient to have their chest wall expand. If you do not do these things, the chances of survival diminish.
2. Child CPR: Children have softer bones and smaller lungs. Hence when delivering CPR to a child, you only need one palm. Chest compression should also be mild. When you provide breaths to a child, only wait for their cheeks to puff up. Excess air could rupture their lungs hence avoid it.
3. Infant CPR: Some infants born with congenital diseases may need CPR. Their tiny bodies only need two-finger chest compressions. When blowing air into an infant’s mouth, you must stay gentle. Any excess pressure on the lungs or the rib cage could result in bone damage.

How does CPR help in choking?

Choking causes blockage in fresh air entering the body. This blockage results in deoxygenated air circulating in the body. It also stops the deoxygenated air from leaving the system. It causes carbon dioxide poisoning and eventually leads to cardiac arrest. Even if you dislodge the blockage, the lungs will not function in a patient suffering from cardiac arrest.

CPR is the only way you can revive a cardiac arrest patient. After delivering the Heimlich maneuver, you must check if the person is conscious. In case the patient loses breath and consciousness, start CPR. It helps with restarting the heart and saves the person from brain death. As there is no reversing brain death, every bystander must prevent it from occurring by giving timely CPR.

Conclusion

Many people lose their lives due to choking. This number includes children and older adults. If only others around these people had taken first aid and a CPR certification, these people could still be alive. The different types of CPR can help people across various age groups. This technique ensures your body does not stay devoid of oxygen for long and prevents the untimely death of the brain. The American HealthCare Academy offers CPR certification online in all its categories. You can also learn basic first aid with this group’s online classes. Log onto the AHCA website and register for your course today.