Month: April 2022

Quick facts:

• Choking represents 9% of injury deaths and 0.3% of injury hospitalisations.
• The most common cause of death from choking is due to choking on objects.
• Elderly individuals face the highest choking-related mortality, whereas young children have the highest hospitalisation rates for this issue.
• Hospitalisation from choking is highest in elderly people with 33% of individuals 65 and older and 23% of children aged 0-4.
  

For immediate first aid treatment for choking, follow these steps:

1. Check for ineffective cough.
2. If unresponsive, call for help.
3. In the case of severe airway obstruction, start CPR.
4. Give up to 5 back blows.
5. Encourage coughing.
6. Keep checking for recovery or deterioration.
7. If it’s a mild airway obstruction or there’s an effective cough, seek help.

Read on to learn more about Choking, and how to prevent and manage it.

Explore this blog:

What is Choking?
Signs of Choking
Causes of Choking
First Aid Response for Asphyxiation by Choking
What Not To Do When Someone Is Choking
Differences in First Aid for Choking Between Children and Adults

Many of us may have experienced or witnessed choking and know how alarming it can be. Choking occurs when the airway is blocked by an object, food, or fluid. This prevents oxygen from getting to the lungs, and if not addressed quickly can lead to unconsciousness, and in severe cases, brain damage or death.

With how common choking is, it’s important to know the steps of first aid for choking so that you can help in an emergency.

What is Choking?

Choking occurs when an airway becomes partially or wholly blocked by a foreign object – such as food – and breathing becomes difficult.

This airway is called the trachea (also referred to as the windpipe), and sits in front of the oesophagus. Your oesophagus is responsible for transferring food to your stomach. 

Naturally, having your windpipe and food pipe so close together sounds counterintuitive, but there are a few key advantages with this layout, primarily relating to better verbal communication functions.

The reason food (or other objects) usually don’t block your airway, is thanks to the epiglottis – an elastic cartilage “flap” that shuts to prevent food from entering the trachea. When this mechanism fails, your windpipe is then exposed to food, and thus choking can result.

Signs of Choking

The familiar sign to alert of choking is clutching the hands to the throat. Of course, this may not always be the case, especially in young children. Common warning signs of choking include:

• Noisy breathing/difficulty breathing
• Panicked behaviour
• Unable to talk
• Skin becomes flushed then turns pale or bluish
• Lips, skin, and nails turn grey or blue
• Squeaky/wheezing sounds while attempting to breathe
• Watery eyes
• Red face
• Losing consciousness
• Coughing – forceful or weak

Causes of Choking

Choking in young children is often as a result of swallowing small objects, be it food or items such as beads or buttons, while for adults, it’s usually from a piece of food. It’s important that children are always supervised when they are eating.

Food is the most prevalent cause of choking, with research from USA and Canada suggesting grapes, sweets, and hotdogs are the most common causes of choking related deaths.

Other common choking hazards include liquids, coins, toys, magnets, buttons, and batteries.

First Aid Response for Asphyxiation by Choking

Choking cuts off oxygen to the brain, and the brain can only survive a few minutes without oxygen, so it’s crucial to give first aid as soon as possible.

Call 000 immediately for an emergency or if the foreign object cannot be easily removed.

Emergency services receive many calls for choking emergencies, and thankfully, first aid provided immediately and correctly can save the life of someone who is choking.

There are varied first aid responses for choking, which may be dependent on:

• If the person is conscious or unconscious
• Whether the person is a child or an adult
• If you are performing first aid on yourself or another person.

Conscious person

• Offer reassurance and encourage them to breathe and cough
• Call 000 
• If they do not have an effective cough lean then slightly forward and, with the heel of your hand, deliver back blows between the shoulder blades. After each blow, check if the object has removed itself

Unconscious not-breathing normally person 

• Call 000
• Remove any visible obstruction from their mouth
• Commence CPR.

Yourself

• Attempt to stay calm and, if possible, attract someone’s attention for assistance
• Cough forcefully if you can
• Lean forward as far as you can, holding onto something anchored if possible. Breathe out, then take a deep breath in and cough to try and remove the object.

What Not To Do When Someone Is Choking

Some important things to avoid when providing first aid for choking victims are:

• DON’T place your fingers in their mouth
• DON’T pick up a child/infant who is choking and turn them upside down
• DON’T perform mouth-to-mouth
• DON’T slap the person on the back when upright
• DON’T attempt the Heimlich manoeuvre 

Differences in First Aid for Choking Between Children and Adults

Choking is most common in the elderly and infants. As noted above, first aid for adults includes the person leaning forward while delivering back blows and chest thrusts. Use less force on a child than you would on an adult.

For children, don’t pat or slap a choking child on the back if they are managing to cough, as this may dislodge the object and cause it to be inhaled deeper into the airway.

In young children, struggling to breathe may not last long and ceasing panicked activity may signal an emergency situation rather than indicate the object has been dislodged. In children, check for other signs that the child is in shock, such as cold and clammy skin, a pale face, and their responses.

If a baby is choking, place them on your forearm or lap, hold them firmly, their head lower than their body, and use less force than you would on a child.

Learn First Aid For Choking With Vital First Aid

At Vital First Aid, we believe it’s essential that everyone has the knowledge and skills to confidently apply first aid and respond to a medical emergency until professional medical assistance is available.

Our qualified first aid trainers are highly skilled and experienced, and all students receive a First Aid Certificate on completion. To benefit from our range of first aid courses, view our courses.

The Vital Facts

• Around 230,000 Australians see a GP for an ankle sprain each year
• Ankle sprains are the most common injury in sport

Many of us have experienced or witnessed injuries, particularly sporting injuries such as sprains, strains, fractures, and dislocations. These types of injuries can result from sporting injuries, such as a sudden twist or jolt, a fall, or a motor vehicle accident, amongst other things.

Jump to:

• What is a sprain?
• What happens to your ankle when you sprain it?
• Symptoms of a sprained ankle
• Treating a sprained ankle
• When to seek medical assistance
• Other possible diagnoses

What Is A Sprain?

A sprain is a soft tissue injury involving stretching or tearing ligaments (the tough fibrous tissue bands that connect bones to other bones) away from a joint.

Sprains are often caused by an injury, and a sprained ankle is one of the most common sporting injuries.

When a sprain occurs, your joint moves in an unnatural way and the ligament gets stretched and pulled.

What Happens To Your Ankle When You Sprain It?

The ankle joint has three bones that are precisely shaped to interlock and give stability. There is connective tissue called ligaments, which reinforce the joint and help hold the bones in place and together. These ligaments restrict unnatural movement of the joint.

An overextension or twist can result in these supporting ligaments stretching and tearing, which is referred to as a sprain. Sprains are a common injury, especially in sports where fast-twitch muscle fiber activity is common such as basketball, football, etc. 

Some people are more prone to sprains than others. People who have sprained their ligaments repeatedly in the past may develop chronic instability in the ligaments impacted.

Symptoms Of A Sprained Ankle

Symptoms of a sprained ankle include:

• Ankle swelling (can occur immediately or over time)
• Ankle joint pain when attempting to move it or walk (particularly when the knee goes forward over the foot)
• Pain at the injury site
• Loss of power at the injury site
• Bruising (within two to three days)

Treating A Sprained Ankle

To heal a sprained ankle, you need to reduce the swelling and ease the pain. Not all ankle sprains heal on their own, and some may even need surgery. An ankle sprain that doesn’t heal properly can lead to recurring sprains and instability.

Regardless of the severity of the sprain, it is recommended to make an appointment with your GP to ensure you haven’t done any more serious damage.

If you’ve injured your ankle and are experiencing moderate to severe pain, it is recommended to call 000 or go to hospital, as it may be fractured. An ankle fracture requires immediate medical attention.

When To Seek Medical Assistance

It’s important to see a doctor if:

• Your ankle is deformed
• Your pain is extreme
• You cannot walk at all or take any weight on the foot
• You cannot move the joint
• There is numbness or redness in the area
• The pain has not improved after a couple of days

Recurring ankle sprains require comprehensive examination and rehabilitation.

Treatment For A Sprained Ankle

Treatment options and outcomes necessary for individuals who have sprained their ankle include:

• Stop your activity
• Rest in a comfortable passion (sitting with support or lying down)
• Apply ice indirectly to the sprain to help reduce pain
• Compression (lightly, with an ankle brace or elastic bandage)
• Elevation
• Seek medical assistance form either a local doctor or hospital
• Pain relief such as Paracetamol, if required
• Use of crutches if required
• Exercises to increase strength and mobility under the guidance of a medical professional

You may decide to see a physiotherapist as part of your treatment. Your physiotherapist will give you specific exercise programs to improve mobility and strengthen muscles and may tape your ankle or suggest an ankle brace. Strengthening and mobility exercises will improve ankle function and expedite your recovery.

Other Possible Diagnoses 

All injuries are painful, and ankle sprain symptoms can be similar to a fracture or a strain. It’s important to know what your injury is so you can heal correctly. You may need an x-ray to see if you have broken a bone.

Strains and Sprains

Something has been stretched, partially torn, or completely torn in both a sprain and a strain. The difference between a sprain or a strain lies in which body part has been injured. A sprain is a stretched or torn ligament (connecting bones to joints), whereas a strain is stretched or torn muscle or tendon (connecting muscle to bone). 

Sprains and strains are both likely to cause swelling, and sprains may also incur bruising, while strains may incur muscle spasms. You should be able to move the joint (with limited mobility) for both a strain and sprain.

Fractures

A fracture, on the other hand, is when one or more of the three bones in the ankle is cracked or broken. Fracture symptoms can vary, with signs of a fracture potentially including:

• Unable to bear any weight or move the ankle at all
• Bone sticking through the skin
• Cracking sound
• Numbness or tingling
• Misshapen ankle
• Moderate to severe pain (as opposed to mild-moderate pain)
• Pain is directly over your ankle bone (as opposed to the soft part of your ankle in a sprain)

Dislocations

Ankle dislocations are another possibility, often resulting from a sporting injury. Ankle dislocations are a result of trauma and do not happen spontaneously. Dislocations are extremely painful, with the injury resulting in the bone being forced out of position within the joint. It is important to seek medical treatment immediately for a dislocation. Ankle dislocations as an isolated injury are uncommon – there is usually an associated fracture.

 Symptoms of an ankle dislocation include:

• Severe pain
• Bruising and swelling
• Unable to bear weight
• A deformed look to the ankle
• Bone poking through the skin
• Difficulty moving the ankle

Learn First Aid For Sprains & Other Injuries With Vital First Aid

For individuals working or volunteering for sporting events, it’s essential that they have the knowledge and skills to confidently apply first aid and respond to a medical emergency until professional medical assistance is available.

Our qualified first aid trainers are highly skilled and experienced, and all students will receive a First Aid Certificate on completion.

To benefit from our range of first aid courses, sign up here.

Courses are available throughout Sydney, Newcastle and the Central Coast.