Choking and Rescuing a Person from Choking

Have you tried having a conversation, or while eating, only to realize that you choke on your saliva? It is very surprising how something as little as our own saliva could choke us, making us cough so hard that people around might be scared it is an emergency unless you tell them you are fine. Everyone would have had this experience at least once in their lifetime, so there is a possibility that you would have had your own share of this experience. Mine was simple, I was talking yesterday for a very long time, so I tried to catch my breath and at the same time, swallowed saliva, and that was it. It was extremely funny how everyone thought I was having a medical emergency but when I told them I choked on saliva, I saw the on their faces which could tell that they have all had their fair share of such experiences. So, why do we shock on almost anything, even when we do not expect to choke?

To understand this, let's get to the process of swallowing and breathing. When a person puts food in their mouth, the process of chewing begins as the teeth grind the food and saliva is mixed, the food is pushed by the tongue to the pharynx in the throat where the soft pallet moves upwards blocking the food from getting into the nasal cavity, the tongue also prevents a backward flow of the food from getting back to the mouth. While food is going down, the glottis becomes closed, and the larynx goes upwards allowing the epiglottis to close the larynx and preventing objects from entering the larynx, thereby finding their way to the windpipe and the trachea. The entire process allows for a free entry of food to the stomach through the esophagus.

https://ndla.no

The entire process that occurs in the throat is meant to help prevent choking on food, and these actions are done on reflex covering different air paths from getting food into them, then there will be no breathing temporarily for a couple of seconds the food spends passing through the throat but then, some times we could breathe while swallowing or talk in the process and that would lead to choking where the food goes through the wrong place.

When a person chokes on food, it is important to know very fast if the airway extraction is partial or total. If it is a partial obstruction, then the person would still be able to talk, cry, and shout, as air would still be able to pass through the airways. If it is in full choke, then the victim would find it hard to breath, have problems with their talking, and with the lack of oxygen, the patient can start to go pale. When this occur, as a first aid, the affected persons are advised to cough if the choking is partial but it is wrong to suppress a cough, straighten out the back and breath through the nose. If they cannot cough, it is important to lean them forward, then hit the shoulder blades upwards towards the victims mouth and not regular horizontal slaps. Do not use your fist and do not administer blow to a person standing straight and if the person starts to cough, then the slap should be stopped.

A Heimlich maneuver is another way to help free the throat as it pushes hout the used air in the lungs to help the person breath. In the case of unconscious people, it is important to lie them on their back, Place the hands between the belly button and lower ribs while sitting on the hips and push the food out of the trachea. If you are choking with no one around to help, you can try the Heimlich maneuver by using a hard object such as a chair and leaning between the stomach and the navel had to push the object out. It can be different a little with obesed and pregnant women as the hands will be placed a little below the ribs, just at the top of the abdomen. Use a quick thrust on the chest to help let the object continue.

Reference

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499941/
• https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/choking
• https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/critical-care-medicine/how-to-do-basic-airway-procedures/how-to-do-the-heimlich-maneuver-in-the-conscious-adult-or-child
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK531467/
• https://www.altru.org/blog/2021/april/how-to-help-someone-who-s-choking/