What to do if you’re choking and home alone: Australian paramedic shares life-saving first aid tip
A former paramedic has revealed how to protect yourself from suffocation when you’re home alone or have no one around to help.
Nikki Jurcutz is the founder of Tiny Hearts Education, which offers first aid tips and courses for parents and some life-saving advice in case something gets stuck in their airways.
The mother said to act quickly as you only have a few minutes to act, so call Triple-Zero immediately even if you can’t speak and perform a self-secret maneuver to clear the obstruction.
“This is exactly what happened to my mom last week, so I’m going to tell you exactly what to do if you start gagging and you’re alone,” Nikki said in an online post Video.
“Step One: Pick up your phone and dial triple zero even though you can’t speak. After a while, you’ll be asked to press “55” to let them know you need help.
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Former paramedic Nikki Jurcutz (pictured) has revealed exactly what you should do if you start choking while you’re home alone or with someone who can’t help you
Nikki, after calling 911, said she should try to cough to push the food out of her esophagus.
If you are unable to cough, Nikki will show you how to perform a Heimlich Maneuver on yourself. Start by making a fist with one hand with your thumb pointing towards your stomach and cover it with your other hand.
Place your fist over your belly button and, in one quick motion, repeatedly push forcefully over a chair or solid structure like a table or bench until the obstruction is cleared.
“Remember you have a few minutes and you need to do this right away,” she explained.
She said to place your fist over your belly button and repeatedly push forcefully over a chair or solid structure, such as a table or bench, in one quick motion until the obstruction is cleared
Dozens of Tiny Heart followers praised the potentially life-saving information and shared their own frightening experiences.
“That’s my biggest fear when I’m alone with my son.” “Thanks for sharing, Nikki,” said one mom.
“I would do that or move backwards to bang my back against the wall,” one added.
“That happened to me. Luckily I panicked. Walked up a few steps and tripped. “The force of the fall loosened the bread I was choking on,” recalled another.
Many said they prevented choking by drinking water, but there are many health professionals who advise against drinking liquids.
Liquid First Aid We strongly recommend “holding back the water” and only after the person has cleared the obstruction and stopped coughing before offering them anything to drink if they wish.