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Choking - adult or child over 1 year

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• Symptoms
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Definition:

Choking is when someone can't breathe because food, a toy, or other object is blocking the airway (throat or windpipe).

Alternative Names:

Heimlich maneuver - adult or child over 1 year

Considerations:

A choking person's airway may be completely or partially blocked. A complete blockage is an urgent medical emergency. A partial blockage can quickly become life threatening if the person can not properly breathe in and out.

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

Causes:

• 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)

References:

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.

• Review Date: 1/16/2007
• Reviewed By: Eric Perez, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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