LESSON 7
REMOVE AN AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION IN A CHILD OR INFANT
7-1.
REMOVE UPPER AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION IN A CONSCIOUS CHILD
a. Good Air Exchange. If the child is coughing, encourage him to continue
coughing as long as he is coughing with enough force to expel the object.
b. Poor Air Exchange or Complete Blockage. If the child's coughs are weak
or nonexistent or if he has difficulty breathing accompanied by a harsh, high pitched
noise when inhaling (stridor), administer abdominal thrusts to expel the obstruction. As
you prepare to administer the thrusts, call for help, but do not delay performing the
thrusts to seek help.
(1) If the child is sitting or standing, perform abdominal thrusts using the
same procedures as for an adult (paragraph 5-5). Continue administering thrusts until
the obstruction is expelled or until the child loses consciousness. If the child loses
consciousness, lower the child to the ground and administer modified abdominal thrusts
as described in paragraph 7-2.
(2) If the child is choking with poor or no air exchange and is lying down,
position the child flat on his back on a firm surface and administer modified abdominal
thrusts as described in paragraph 7-2.
7-2.
REMOVE UPPER AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION IN AN UNCONSCIOUS CHILD
The steps given below assume the child is conscious and lying down [paragraph
7-1b(2)] or lost consciousness while you were administering abdominal thrusts
[paragraph 7-1b(1)]. If you discovered an airway obstruction while performing rescue
breathing [paragraph 6-4c(2)], you will have already performed the steps given in
paragraphs a through c below.
a. Call for help if you have not done so or if help has not arrived.
b. Lay the child on his back on a firm, flat surface, open his airway, and check
for breathing (paragraph 6-2).
c. If the child is not breathing, attempt to administer two ventilations (paragraph
6-3). If the airway is blocked, reposition the head and attempt to administer two
ventilations again.
MD0532
7-2
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