Choking

[SARGE67]

I was taking my usual pills today around noon and one is a capsule. The capsule didn't feel right going down and next thing I knew I was unable to breathe. My body was trying to cough it up but couldn't get any air. I was making grunting sounds while grasping my throat and face turning bright red in the bathroom mirror. Somehow someway I was able to get just enough air to begin coughing but each cough blocked it all up again with no air. It then began easier to get the breaths and coughed like hell. Began coughing up yellow stuff that had gone into my lungs from the capsule. Did that heavily the first hour then sporadic rest of the day, lasted about 8 hours. Was alpha lipoic acid for my glucose and help with rebuilding my damaged nerve endings. Later to verify that yellow I opened up a capsule and saw the yellow powder. I was very close to choking to death home alone. Reading about choking tonight it says to remain calm because panic causes the throat muscles to tighten up making it worse. Yeah, well when you can't breathe and face turning red it's kinda hard to remain calm. I'm opening that capsule and sprinkling on applesauce or yogurt from now on. I never did see the empty capsule. Imagine having this in your lungs all day.

 

[tedwitt]

I did that the other day, the Wife gave me a piece of candy, all of a sudden it went the wrong way. I wanted to freak out, I couldn't get enough air to cough, I calmed myself down, drew in my air slowly till I got enough to cough it up. That scared the crap out of me.

 

[jrbfishn]

Choking is actually a very common way to die. IIRC, it kills way more kids every year than guns in the home do.
It is so common, they used to have signs in most resteraunts to show you how to help someone that is choking. Don't see it that much anymore for some reason.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

 

[Coiled]

Choking: First aid

Be prepared to provide emergency first aid if you or someone else is choking.

www.mayoclinic.org

If you're alone and choking:

Call 911 or your local emergency number right away. Then, give yourself abdominal thrusts, also called the Heimlich maneuver, to remove the stuck object.

Place a fist slightly above your navel.
Grasp your fist with the other hand.
Bend over a hard surface. A countertop or chair will do.
Shove your fist inward and upward.

 

[deemus]

I always drink water first before.taking pills.

 

[MountainGirl]

《 Not looking forward to having to take pills.》

 

[Byrd666]

Scary stuff. I've choked on a piece of steak once years ago. Scared the holy be-husezess out of me. I've also had issues with taking a few types of meds. One of my docs. told me to keep my problem meds. in the freezer. When medications are cold like that, it makes them easier to take and not cause so much discomfort. It works.

I also saw a commercial the other day for the link below that I'll be looking into shortly.

https://lifevac.net/product/lifevac/

 

[striker55]

Was out to dinner one time with my brother and his girl. I didn't notice anything was wrong until he stood up, she stood up and he did the heimlich on her. She was eating steak.

 

[Wudidiz]

I was taking my usual pills today around noon and one is a capsule. The capsule didn't feel right going down and next thing I knew I was unable to breathe. My body was trying to cough it up but couldn't get any air. I was making grunting sounds while grasping my throat and face turning bright red in the bathroom mirror. Somehow someway I was able to get just enough air to begin coughing but each cough blocked it all up again with no air. It then began easier to get the breaths and coughed like hell. Began coughing up yellow stuff that had gone into my lungs from the capsule. Did that heavily the first hour then sporadic rest of the day, lasted about 8 hours. Was alpha lipoic acid for my glucose and help with rebuilding my damaged nerve endings. Later to verify that yellow I opened up a capsule and saw the yellow powder. I was very close to choking to death home alone. Reading about choking tonight it says to remain calm because panic causes the throat muscles to tighten up making it worse. Yeah, well when you can't breathe and face turning red it's kinda hard to remain calm. I'm opening that capsule and sprinkling on applesauce or yogurt from now on. I never did see the empty capsule. Imagine having this in your lungs all day.

Were you swallowing it dry or with a mouthful of water?

 

[Wudidiz]

Was out to dinner one time with my brother and his girl. I didn't notice anything was wrong until he stood up, she stood up and he did the heimlich on her. She was eating steak.

Alot of people who choke on steak and other foods are not adequately chewing before swallowing. Don't eat fast. Use those teeth and chew like a cow.

 

[MountainGirl]

^^ That. The only times I've choked is when I wasn't paying attention.

 

[Tnhawk]

During a past Christmas season, while working in a refinery, one of the guys in the shop started choking on a piece of hard candy. Leaned him over a chair and freed it with a thrust to the back.

 

[alternative]

Happened once to me and was bad enough that I was ready to stick a knife into the crico-thyroid membrane but fortunately I coughed it up. You have to act before you pass out. 911 call would have found a dead man.

 

[BRD@66]

It's hell gettin' old, ain't it?

 

[1911'S 4 Me]

It's hell gettin' old, ain't it?

And it takes a mite gettin' use to.

 

[Mowingmaniac 24/7]

3 Times I've stopped my wife from choking.

First time, I tried the Heimlich Maneuver...didn't work.

Vigorously pounding her in the middle of her back while she leaned over...did work.

First choking experience was a chicken bone caught in her wind pipe...that was very, very scary for both of us. Back pounding dislodged it.

The other 2 times it was hastily eaten meat causing the blockage.

PS, pills go down way easier with V8 juice.

I have to take a couple of dozen pills a day, so I've learned to do so with ye olde V8 juice.

 

[benenglish]

I swallow pills easily but also get choked easily. Always have.

One trick is to separate the pills from the capsules. Capsules tend to float and pills tend to sink. If you take a handful of pills with one capsule, you'll be swallowing that chunk of pills while the capsule floats away from them, sometimes to bad places.

Capsules are more easily taken if you bend over before swallowing. The capsule will float to the top of the liquid. Since you're bent over, the top is the back of the throat. That gives the capsule a head start on going down the right way.

Choking is actually a very common way to die.

A good friend of my sister, her lawyer, choked on a chicken bone and died while eating dinner alone in his home.

Side note - He had lived a wild life. The next day the courthouse was abuzz with salacious rumors about how he might have died. Since she was appearing in court the next morning and no longer had an attorney, sis had to address the judge herself. The judge was very appreciative when she stood up in court, asked for a continuance, and made a statement putting all those silly rumors to rest.

Stupid way for a great lawyer to die.

PS, pills go down way easier with V8 juice.

Yes! Any thick liquid is better than just water. Back when I had a fruit and protein smoothie for breakfast, I found that the thick liquid made taking pills a breeze.

 

[Byrd666]

I swallow pills easily but also get choked easily. Always have.

Since my time in the Hospital for my T.B.I., I've had issues with swallowing some foods and some medications. Even just eating spaghetti, or cereal can cause issues. Just the smallest morsel of food can sometimes get caught and cause the feeling of choking, or a coughing fit. E.N.T. Docs. say there isn't a problem but, it's a chronic issue I need to be continually cognizant of. I've no doubt it was caused by the respirator in the E.R./I.C.U., or breathing tubes put in by the E.M.T. Just part of the big picture now, so it's no big deal.

 

[Axxe55]

Since my time in the Hospital for my T.B.I., I've had issues with swallowing some foods and some medications. Even just eating spaghetti, or cereal can cause issues. Just the smallest morsel of food can sometimes get caught and cause the feeling of choking, or a coughing fit. E.N.T. Docs. say there isn't a problem but, it's a chronic issue I need to be continually cognizant of. I've no doubt it was caused by the respirator in the E.R./I.C.U., or breathing tubes put in by the E.M.T. Just part of the big picture now, so it's no big deal.

I TOO HAVE SOME OF THE SAME ISSUES AFTER HAVING THE STROKES LAST YEAR BUT I WAS WARNED THIS COULD BECOME AN ISSUE AT A LATER DATE!

 

[DoubleDuty]

It is certainly scary.