1 Give back slaps
2Give chest thrusts
3Repeat treatment
24 FIRST AID
Choking( babies under 1)
Babies under 1 can easily choke on small objects. A choking baby may squeak, turn red then blue in the face, or appear to cry without making a noise. The aim of first-aid treatment is to dislodge the object as quickly as possible, using chest thrusts. If the obstruction is not removed, the baby will stop breathing and lose consciousness.
SIGNS & SYMPTOMS
• High-pitched squeak-like sounds, or no noise at all
• Difficulty in breathing
• Red face and neck, turning gray-blue
TREATING CHOKING
1 Give back slaps
• Position the baby face down along your arm, with your hand supporting her head.
• Slap her back sharply up to five times.
• Turn her over and look in her mouth to see if anything has been dislodged.
• If it has, pick it out carefully.
!
Give five back slaps
Important
• Do not blindly sweep your finger around the mouth.
• If the baby becomes unconscious, open the airway, check breathing, and prepare
to begin resuscitation( pp. 12 – 20).
• Do not attempt to use abdominal thrusts on a baby.
2Give chest thrusts
• If the baby is still choking, lay her face upwards and place two fingers on her breastbone, just below nipple level.
• Push sharply into her chest with your fingers up to five times.
• Check her mouth again and remove anything that you can see.
Give five sharp chest thrusts
3Repeat treatment
• If the obstruction still has not been dislodged, repeat the sequence of back slaps and chest thrusts three more times.
• If the obstruction has not been cleared after all efforts have been made, call an ambulance.
• Take the baby with you when you go to call the ambulance.
• Repeat the treatment sequence while you are waiting for the ambulance to arrive.