What to do if you are choking, food gets stuck in your throat or water gets stuck?

What is Choking?

Food and water getting stuck in the throat is very common. Many of us often get food stuck in the throat, hence it is very important to know the way to avoid it. Today in this health article, we will know why food or water gets stuck in the throat. ? What happens if help is not received on time? What should you do if someone around you is choking? And if this ever happens to you and there is no one around, what should you do?

 

Why does food and water get stuck in the throat?

When any food item gets stuck in our windpipe i.e. throat, it is called choking. Our windpipe and food pipe are very close and there is a kind of lid in our throat which we call epiglottis.  When we eat food, this lid called epiglottis covers our windpipe. When due to some reason it is not able to cover the windpipe, then sometimes food goes into our windpipe while eating. Because of that, choking sensation occurs i.e. food gets stuck in our throat. Choking can happen due to many reasons like if we eat food without chewing it or eat food quickly. Choking can happen even if we are talking while eating. Some people have a genetic condition or due to some mental condition they are not able to swallow food properly. There may be problem of choking in them also.

What happens if help is not received on time

If a person is choking and does not get timely help, then many problems can occur. Due to choking, first of all the amount of oxygen in our lungs reduces. Due to which a message is sent from our brain to the lungs to remove the stuck thing, for which we start coughing. If that thing does not come out even after we cough, then the level of oxygen in the blood starts decreasing. Due to low oxygen level in the blood, oxygen supply to our brain reduces and we may become unconscious. If our brain does not get oxygen for 4 to 6 minutes, it can cause permanent damage to the brain. Due to brain damage and lack of oxygen, we can also have heart failure or cardiac arrest.

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What to do if someone is choking around you

If someone in front of you is choking, there are some things we can do. If the person is conscious and breathing, ask them to cough and hit them five times above the waist between the shoulders, this may dislodge the object stuck in their throat.

Apart from this we can also do Heimlich maneuver. In the Heimlich maneuver, we stand behind the person who is being choked and place one hand on his navel and place the other hand on top of the first hand, then push inward and upward on the stomach. With this, the thing stuck in the windpipe can come out.  If the person has become unconscious due to coughing and has stopped breathing, then start giving them CPR immediately. CPR is called cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In this, the person's chest is pressed and breath is given through the mouth. Along with giving CPR, immediately call emergency services or ambulance and get them immediately shifted to the hospital.

Heimlich maneuver

What to do if no one is around

Even if you are feeling anxious and there is no one around to help you, you can still help yourself. To get out the thing stuck in the throat, first of all you have to cough rapidly and keep coughing until the thing stuck in the throat comes out. Even after doing this, if the stuck thing does not come out, then by placing one hand on the navel and the other hand on that hand, push rapidly inward and upward on your stomach. By doing this repeatedly, the thing stuck in the throat can come out. If you are not able to push on your stomach with your hand, then lean on a chair or table placed around you so that your stomach touches its edge, then push your stomach inward and upward from that chair or table. Apply more pressure. Due to which the thing stuck in the throat will come out. In the meantime, if possible, call or message someone you know or call an ambulance.

 Heimlich maneuver with help of chair

See, if something gets stuck in your throat, it is very important to take immediate action, otherwise you may even die.

DISCLAIMER : The information, treatment methods and advice given are based on the experience of experts and the public domain. Before implementing any advice, please consult your doctor. This health article does not advise you to take medicines on your own.

 

 

Anil Paal