Choking - adult or child over 1 year

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Choking first aid - adult or child over 1 year - series

Overview Symptoms Treatment Prevention

Choking - adult or child over 1 year

A choking person's airway may be completely or partially blocked. A complete blockage is an urgent medical emergency. A partial obstruction can quickly become life threatening if the person loses the ability to breathe in and out sufficiently.

Without oxygen, permanent brain damage can occur in as little as 4 minutes. Rapid first aid for choking can save a life.

• Eating too fast, failing to chew food well enough, or eating with improperly fitted dentures
• Alcohol consumption (even a small amount of alcohol affects awareness)
• Unconscious or stuporous persons may inhale vomited material
• Small objects inhaled by young children
• Trauma to the head and face (swelling or blood can cause choking)

Murray, JF. Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 3rd Ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders; 2000.

Marx JA, Hockberger RS, Walls RM, eds. Rosen?s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 5th Ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby; 2002.

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