Heimlich Maneuver: A Step-by-Step Guide to Saving a Life

Choking because of an obstructed airway is a leading cause of accidental death. If a choking person is not coughing or is unable to speak, that's your cue to perform the Heimlich maneuver immediately. Here are a few steps to help save a choking victim.

Things You'll Need

• First Aid Kits
• First Aid Books
• First Aid Classes

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Instructions

• 1

  Ask the choking person to stand if he or she is sitting.

• 2

  Place yourself slightly behind the standing victim.

• 3

  Reassure the victim that you know the Heimlich maneuver and are going to help.

• 4

  Place your arms around the victim's waist.

• 5

  Make a fist with one hand and place your thumb toward the victim, just above his or her belly button.

• 6

  Grab your fist with your other hand.

• 7

  Deliver five upward squeeze-thrusts into the abdomen.

• 8

  Make each squeeze-thrust strong enough to dislodge a foreign body.

• 9

  Understand that your thrusts make the diaphragm move air out of the victim's lungs, creating a kind of artificial cough.

• 10

  Keep a firm grip on the victim, since he or she can lose consciousness and fall to the ground if the Heimlich maneuver is not effective.

• 11

  Repeat the Heimlich maneuver until the foreign body is expelled.