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Reading 3 min.
in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
Medical validation:
November 8, 2024
In the United States, a 7-year-old boy narrowly escaped death after choking on food. In this situation, what emergency actions should be taken? The response from Dr Gérald Kierzek, medical director of Doctissimo.
When faced with a life-threatening emergency, reacting quickly is not always easy. Stephanie George, a mother living in Illinois (United States), experienced this when her son started choking on a piece of chicken.
A piece of chicken got stuck in the boy’s throat
Stephanie George, the mother of young Sebastian, 7 years old, recounted this shocking event on a local American channel. She explains that a piece of roughly mixed chicken got stuck in the throat of her son, who suffers from Cornelia de Lange syndrome.
However, this rare disease is characterized by intestinal disorders, in particular severe gastroesophageal reflux, which often makes feeding complicated (difficulties in acquiring chunks of food, oral disorders, food selectivity, etc.). ).
Result: the little boy began to choke.
“I grabbed my phone to call 911, but as I was dialing the number, Sebastian was already blue. So I panicked,” she says.
Fortunately for the young mother, her neighbor, a certain Gary, was at home. Trained in first aid, he did not hesitate to help the young boy.
In a video posted on TikTok (filmed by the house’s surveillance camera), we see Gary gently tapping the little boy on the back to try to eject the problematic piece.
A success. “I did exactly as I was taught: keep the airway open, put the child on my leg and give a gentle push to the upper back.”he explains.
@abcnews An Illinois man saved his neighbor’s shocking child in a moment that was captured in doorbell camera footage. In the video, the child’s mother, Stephanie George, can be seen running over to her neighbor’s house carrying her 7-year-old son. George’s son, Sebastian, has a rare genetic condition called Cornelia de Lange syndrome and eats through a feeding tube, she told Chicago ABC affiliate WLS-TV. On Saturday evening, a piece of chicken that didn’t blend up finely enough became lodged in Sebastian’s throat, and she quickly realized he was choking. Fearing it would take emergency responders too long to arrive, George grabbed her son and carried him across the street to the home of her neighbor, Gary Hutchinson. In the moment captured on the doorbell camera, Hutchinson can be seen answering the door, then laying Sebastian across his knee and gently hitting him on the back until the stuck food was dislodged. Hutchinson said he has taken CPR training and is grateful he was able to help his neighbors in their time of need.
In the event of total obstruction, what to do?
When a small object or piece of food (the famous aspiration) is stuck in the airways, you must react quickly, says Dr. Gérald Kierzek.
Indeed, in the event of total obstruction “that is, no sound, no crying, no coughing“, emergency services must be immediately contacted (15 or 112) and certain good actions must be taken:
In an infant or young child (who is held on the rescuer’s forearm):
- Lay the victim astride the forearm, face down;
- Hold the head with your fingers, on either side of the mouth (at the angle of the lower jaw), without pressing on the throat;
- Tilt the infant so that the head is lower than the thorax;
- Give 1 to 5 slaps between the two shoulder blades with the heel of your open hand.
If this technique proves ineffective, it is then appropriate to alternate with compressions:
In an infant or young child (who is held on the rescuer’s forearm):
- Place your forearm against the infant’s back, supporting his head with your hand;
- Turn the infant so that his face is skyward;
- Rest the forearm on which the infant is resting on his thigh. The infant’s head should be lower than the rest of the body;
- Place the pads of two fingers of one hand in the axis of the sternum, one finger width above a mark made up of the bottom of the sternum, at the junction of the last ribs;
- Perform 1 to 5 deep, successive compressions, releasing the chest between each one.
What if the child is older?
In this case, do not lay the person down and give them a maximum of 5 slaps on the back, between the shoulder blades.
“Stop if the foreign body is expelled or the person starts coughing“, says the Health Insurance website. “If this first technique fails (the person’s condition does not improve), use the Heimlich maneuver. Finally, while waiting for help, leave the person in the position they assume spontaneously. Most often she sits and leans forward. Above all, do not try to lengthen it.”
Diagram of the back slap technique (for adults and children over 2 years old)
Diagram of the Heimlich maneuver (for adults and children over 2 years old, possible from 1 year old)
