Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Lesson 7: Remove an Airway Obstruction in a Child or Infant
7-1
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.
