The giant panda got stuck in the throat, and the keeper Heimlich successfully rescued it! How to save yourself when you are choking on food?

On April 14, in Chengdu, Sichuan, the giant panda "Man Yue Mei" accidentally got a carrot stuck in its throat. After the keeper discovered it, he quickly used the Heimlich maneuver to rescue it, and soon the carrot piece fell out successfully.

The principle of the Heimlich maneuver is to compress the upper abdomen to cause the diaphragm to rise suddenly, and use the impact force to expel foreign matter and restore airway patency. It is mainly used to remove foreign matter from the respiratory tract.

This method is not only applicable to pandas, but also to humans.

What is the Heimlich Maneuver?

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Heimlich was an American thoracic surgeon. He discovered that during first aid, if one patted the patient's back or inserted one's fingers into the patient's throat to remove foreign objects, the foreign objects would often go deeper into the respiratory tract. After repeated experiments, he invented the Heimlich maneuver, also known as the Heimlich technique. The "Who's Who in the World" called Heimlich "the person who has saved the most lives in the world."

How should we provide first aid when we choke on food?

If an adult has a foreign object stuck in the throat, you can stand behind the patient, wrap your arms around the patient's waist, make a fist with one hand, and place the fist with the knuckle facing inward on the patient's abdomen below the thorax and above the navel. Use the other hand to make a fist and quickly hit the patient's abdomen upward and inward to compress it until the foreign object is expelled.

If there is no one around when a foreign object is stuck in the throat, how should the person who is stuck use the Heimlich maneuver to save himself? The first method is to use the last few steps of the first aid process mentioned above to save yourself. In addition, you can also use objects around you such as chairs, tables, handrails, etc. to save yourself, such as pushing your abdomen against the back of the chair, grabbing the chair with both hands, and pushing down hard until the foreign object is expelled.

If an infant or young child has a foreign object stuck in his or her throat, you can let the child lie on your knees, pinch both sides of the child's cheekbones with one hand, keep your arm against the child's chest, and pat the child's back 5 times with the other hand. Then turn the child over, press the center of his or her chest and the lower edge of the nipple line with your index and middle fingers until the child spits out the foreign object.

This method is not suitable for fish bones stuck in the throat. Experts recommend doing this

This first aid method is effective for relatively regular blockages, but for sharp objects like fish bones, the airflow has little force on them and cannot achieve the effect of expelling them at all; in addition, if the operation is not correct, the fish bone may be displaced, causing it to penetrate deeper or cut the esophagus or blood vessels, causing secondary injury.

In addition, experts also pointed out that drinking vinegar in large gulps to soften fish bones is not scientific. It may also cause damage to the throat mucosa and aggravate edema.

It is also not advisable to swallow steamed buns or rice or fish bones. This may cause the fish bones to penetrate deeper and be more difficult to remove; it may also cause damage such as esophageal bleeding.

Correct first aid measures

If the fish bone is in a shallow position, you can use tweezers or your hands to gently pull it out. If the fish bone is in a deep position and is difficult to find or the person can no longer speak, it is recommended to seek medical attention in time.