Introduction

If you are faced with a sudden emergency situation, it is very important to understand that intelligence and training should always take precedence over bravery and outright recklessness. After all, you can run into a burning building to save the life of a wailing infant. However, if you have no safety equipment or breathing apparatus, or even the requisite training, you will quickly find yourself lost and disoriented. The odds are that you will end up needing to be rescued yourself, and thus put a greater burden on the emergency rescue services.

Here, it is pertinent to note that well-trained and highly skilled and experienced professionals have both the necessary fitness as well as the tools to get the job done right. While your intentions may be laudable, as they say, “The way to hell is paved with good intentions.”

If you would have basic training in emergency rescue, you will be able to do the needful and perhaps help to save the precious life of a fellow human being. 

Performing the Heimlich Maneuver

In case a child is choking in front of you, it is vitally important to remember that the Heimlich maneuver is one of the single most effective techniques to save a life.

It is not a particularly difficult technique to execute but has to be performed properly nonetheless. This is because an individual in need of the Heimlich maneuver will generally have tried to swallow a piece of food (such as a chunk of meat or fruit for instance) and is unable to swallow it properly. This means that their airway is blocked, and they is in potential danger of literally choking to death.

Under these circumstances, you should grasp the person tightly from behind, while making sure that they are in an upright position. After that, you should position one very tightly clenched fist directly above the navel of the person but below their rib cage. You should then proceed to grasp your fist with the other hand. Once the grip is complete, you have to pull the clenched fist both sharply and then directly backward and upward so that sufficient pressure is generated under the rib cage.

You should do this at least a dozen times in very rapid succession or until the food particle has dislodged and the person can breathe comfortably on their own. In either case, you should take them to the nearest emergency clinic for a check-up to ensure that there is nothing wrong with them anymore.

Conclusion

In light of the above, we can see that you do not have to be a registered and certified emergency responder in order to save a precious life. Even something as easy to learn as the Heimlich maneuver can be the difference between life and death.