METHOD OF CLEARING AN OBSTRUCTION IN A CHOKING PERSON

Abstract

A simplified method of clearing a blockage caused by an obstruction in a person who is choking has the steps of standing the choking person behind a seat back of a chair, doubling the choking person over the seat back thereby having the choking person's head and chest pointing straight downwardly, and striking a back of the choking person repeatedly to drive the obstruction downwardly out of the throat towards the mouth of the choking person under the assistance of gravity to clear the obstruction. The method may further include the step of pressing the choking person's abdomen against the top of the seat back.

Claims

1. An improved method of clearing a blockage caused by an obstruction in a person who is choking comprises the steps of: standing the choking person behind a seat back of a chair; doubling the choking person over the seat back thereby having the choking person's head and chest pointing vertically downward; and striking a back of the choking person repeatedly to drive the obstruction downwardly out of a throat toward a mouth of the choking person under the assistance of gravity to clear the obstruction.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprises the step of: pressing the choking person and leaning over the seat back against a top of the seat back, which accentuates the effect gravity has in dislodging the obstruction.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of striking the back of the choking person repeatedly is directed at the junction of the back of the neck and the upper part of the chest of the choking person toward the head of the choking person to move the obstruction toward the head to clear the blockage.

4. An improved method of clearing a blockage caused by an obstruction in a person who is choking comprises the steps of: doubling the choking person over, thereby having the choking person's head and chest pointing vertically downward; and striking a back of the choking person repeatedly to drive the obstruction downwardly out of a throat toward a mouth of the choking person under the assistance of gravity to clear the obstruction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The invention will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0012] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary chair having a seat and a seat back that can be used when practicing the method of the present invention.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a choking person standing and bent over the back of a chair back.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a side view of a choking person standing and bent over the back of a chair back. A variation of this procedure could be adapted by the victim by themselves by doubling over a seat back and using both the gravity and abrupt pressure on the abdomen to help expel the obstruction.

[0015] FIG. 4 is a view of a person striking the back of the choking person doubled over the chair back to drive the obstruction out of the throat toward the mouth out of the choking person aided by gravity.

[0016] FIG. 5 is a view of a person standing to the side of the choking person and striking the back of the choking person doubled over to drive the obstruction out of the throat toward the mouth out of the choking person aided by gravity.

[0017] FIG. 6 is a view of a person standing behind the choking person and striking the back of the choking person doubled over to drive the obstruction out of the throat toward the mouth out of the choking person aided by gravity and the support of the other hand supporting the abdomen of the choking person which constricts the abdominal area and increases the pressure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] The technique involves bending a choking person 2 over the back 14 of a chair 10, thus taking advantage of gravity. Then, displacing the obstruction in the larynx is accomplished by administering abrupt thumps at the top of the back of the chest, which can be facing the rescuer, but upside down. If such thumps are made in rapid succession, the obstruction will become loose and be expelled.

[0019] The method of clearing an obstruction of a choking person 2 is described hereinafter with illustrations showing FIGS. 1-5 to provide clarification as to how the method is to be practiced. With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary chair 10 is illustrated, the chair 10 has a seat 12 and a seat back 14. These types of chairs are commonly found at restaurants and dining locations and generally do not include side arm rests, but could. The chair 10 is only provided as an exemplary example of one typical chair that could be used when practicing this method. The most important aspect of the chair 10 is that it has a seat back 14. The seat back 14 includes a top portion 16 which can be useful when practicing the present invention.

[0020] With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, when a person 2 is choking, the present method is shown rather than the more conventional Heimlich maneuver which requires the person assisting to wrap arms around the choking person, make a first and try to drive the obstruction upward as if trying to lift the victim while standing behind the choking person. It is common knowledge that this is often difficult to achieve particularly by people 20 who are petite or small or when the choking person 2 is extremely large.

[0021] The present invention is an improvement over the current prior practice. In the present invention, the choking person 2 is standing behind the chair 10 and is bent over the top 16 of the seat back 14 as illustrated. In the illustrations, the choking person's arms are shown hanging vertically downward. Alternatively, the choking person could hold the back portion of the seat back 14 or the choking person 2 could put his hands forward if desirable and use the seat 12 as a means of stabilizing themselves. In any event, the objective is to place the choking person's 2 abdomen across the top 16 of the seat back 14 as shown in FIGS. 2-4. When this is accomplished, it creates significant pressure in the region, once this is achieved, the rescuer or person assisting 20 can stand either beside the choking person 2 or in front of the choking person 2 such that the back 4 of the choking person 2 is visible or available to the rescuer 20 so that the rescuer 20 can provide striking force against the choking person's 2 back 4 preferably at the root of the neck or junction of neck and chest in a repeating fashion, as shown in FIG. 4. This can be done with a closed fist, the fleshy outer part next to the little finger providing a force to help drive the obstruction with the assistance of gravity out of the choking person's larynx so that it can expel the obstruction from the throat, thereby clearing the obstruction and allowing the choking person 2 to breathe. It is believed that this is a preferred way of removing an obstruction with the use of a common article such as a chair 10 with a seat back 14.

[0022] An alternative method of removing an obstruction from a choking person 2 is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. The choking person 2 is doubled over similar to the previous method only without the aid of a chair 10. The rescuer 20 is shown standing to the side of the choking person 2 striking the area 4 below the neck in FIG. 5. Alternatively, the rescuer 20 is shown standing behind the choking person 2 striking the area 4 below the neck to dislodge an obstruction with the aid of gravity and the support of the other hand supporting the abdomen of the choking person which constricts the abdominal area and increases the pressure.

[0023] In summary, the present invention method is easier to perform and possibly more effective than the established Heimlich maneuver. First, doubling the victim over uses gravity more efficiently to expel the obstructing foreign body. The proximal part of larynx is wider than the distal, where the vocal cords present a distinct constriction, and thus the dangerous obstruction. Second, the use of a chair back to press onto the abdomen uses the person's own weight to increase intra-abdominal pressure to further aid in the dislodging of the offending food bolts or obstruction. Third, the delivery of repeated thumps at the root of the neck/junction of neck and chest, leads to more effective shaking loose of the obstructing bolts or chunk of meat. Also, this technique can be performed by a person of any size, while standing behind, in front of or even more effectively from the side of the victim. Additionally, the victim themself can perform this technique, except self-thumping will be impossible. Finally, if a chair back is not available, simply doubling the victim over can often accomplish the job of dislodging any obstruction as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. This version is especially suited for pregnant women in their later stages of pregnancy. Similarly, the technique can be adopted in babies by simply holding them upside down, by grabbing the feet and then thumping at the right location as mentioned earlier.

[0024] Variations in the present invention are possible in light of the description of it provided herein. While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for the purpose of illustrating the subject invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the subject invention. It is therefore, to be understood that changes can be made in the particular embodiments described, which will be within the full intended scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims.