Choking

[leVieux]

Doc, thanks for that info, is easy to see the picture now., So a Heimlich maneuver may/wouldn't work if the object is in the windpipe/lung? If the object is stuck on the thing that goes up and down in our upper esophagus as we swallow, any air/gas in gut can expel it. That seems to be the most activity when someone choking on food and saved by Heimlich.

This capsule is representative, same bottle of the one that got stuck and stopped my breathing, then began releasing this yellow powder into my lungs. Hell I suddenly couldn't breathe and lungs burning from the acidity of the powder. Just imagine that crap in your lungs. I coughed it up 5-6 hours.

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No, the « Heimlich » & similar use abdominal content compression to suddenly force the respiratory diaphragms UP, pushing air from the lungs via the bronchi & trachea.

Principle is that there always some air in the lungs.

If a person is ’’choking’’ from an object above the larynx, it coud usually be removed by a ‘’finger sweep’’, as taught in CPR classes.

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[leVieux]

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Ask your Doc to send you to « Speech Therapy » for learning to swallow with less difficulty. This is the form of Physical Therapy which deals with talking, swallowing & breathing.

I really don’t like the idea of opening capsules unless your Pharmacist OK’s that for a specific medication.

leVieux

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[Axxe55]

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Ask your Doc to send you to « Speech Therapy » for learning to swallow with less difficulty. This is the form of Physical Therapy which deals with talking, swallowing & breathing.

I really don’t like the idea of opening capsules unless your Pharmacist OK’s that for a specific medication.

leVieux

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many times the outer capsule or coating on pills are there fora timed release into the body without them they may be absorbed at too fast a rate

 

[deemus]

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Try taking a very deep breath IN immediately before swallowing anything.

Breathing in WHILE SWALLOWING is dangerous.

I’ve seen people die from choking on many simple things.

Way back when I was a Family Doc, I put big photos on waiting room walls of autopsy findings from dead children who had choked to death on toy balloons.

People don’t realize the great danger of balloons. Small kids tend to bite them; they explode and fragments can be aspirated, covering the airway, but too far down to be removed w/o instruments, so they die.

leVieux

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I know a guy who lost a kid due to a balloon. I've been paranoid about them ever since. They are rarely in my house.

 

[tedwitt]

Doc, is that advice to have some air in your gut to expel in case of choking ? If so works for me.

Makes sense I guess, take a breath before you take a bite.

 

[tedwitt]

A few days ago my wife, who has had throat cancer and has difficulty swallowing anything, was unable to get a gel capsule down. It was stuck somewhere while she coughed and gagged for a long time. It just happened that a neighbor who has bad copd texted me, I told him about it, he said he has the same problem and when he does, he takes a little bit of either pickle juice or hot pepper juice. I gave her a little pickle juice and it almost immediately dissolved and went down. Vinegar? She was able to swallow after that, but had a sore throat for a couple of days and won't take the gel capsule again. It was only Vitamin E, which she needs, but not at the price she had to pay. Now I'm ready to run for the pickle jar any time she starts to choke.

I snack on sweet gerkins, I keep them on my computer desk, when the pickles are gone I sip on the juice till it's gone, I gotta remember that.

 

[tedwitt]

The capsules have that slippery gel on them, swallow them as soon as you you put them in your mouth so it don't dissolve.

Myself, I take 8 pills in the evening all at the same time. No problem.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

I take about 30 throughout the day.
Morning, noon and night.

But I understand that some people have an issue swallowing.

 

[benenglish]

I went through a period (long past, thank God) where I thought that taking a bunch of supplements recommended by various hucksters would help me lose weight. My morning regimen was 42 (or was it 32?) pills. I took them in one swallow. Never had a problem.

These days I choke myself into a coughing fit with a sip of water.

The only good thing about getting old is that it's better than the alternative.

 

[Axxe55]

I know a guy who lost a kid due to a balloon. I've been paranoid about them ever since. They are rarely in my house.

WE HAD HEARD OF PEOPLE CHOKING ON BALOONS SO WE USED AN AIR COMPRESSOR TO BLOW THEM UP!

 

[tedwitt]

I take about 30 throughout the day.
Morning, noon and night.

But I understand that some people have an issue swallowing.

I had UP3 surgery for sleep apnea, I have to be careful eating because ground beef, rice and corn and small food will try to go up into my sinus. That's almost as bad as choking.

 

[craigntx]

Can i use this as copy/pasta?

 

[seeker_two]

WE HAD HEARD OF PEOPLE CHOKING ON BALOONS SO WE USED AN AIR COMPRESSOR TO BLOW THEM UP!

That's a bit drastic to do to those folks.....

 

[ronr68]

Choking is scarey. I have done the Heimlich on 2 people.

 

[leVieux]

I went through a period (long past, thank God) where I thought that taking a bunch of supplements recommended by various hucksters would help me lose weight. My morning regimen was 42 (or was it 32?) pills. I took them in one swallow. Never had a problem.

These days I choke myself into a coughing fit with a sip of water.

The only good thing about getting old is that it's better than the alternative.

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Old Age is not for Sissies. . . . . . .

Then,

we die !

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[SARGE67]

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Old Age is not for Sissies. . . . . . .

Then,

we die !

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Doc, as we Marines said in 'Nam, life sucks and then you die.

 

[SARGE67]

many times the outer capsule or coating on pills are there fora timed release into the body without them they may be absorbed at too fast a rate

I agree on the timed release pills if you're referring to tablets. Most labels on the bottle will say not to chew or crush and have some form of ER (extended release) on the labels. But always ask your doc or pharmacist if in doubt. Capsules I can't say about timed release but I can say the only two times I ever choked in my 75 years were with capsules and were in past two years. I have several great supplements for different things I've avoided the past two weeks after my episode. I am checking on emptying them on applesauce or just forget them. Two lowered my A1C an entire point from 6.9 to 6.0 plus lower glucose. Choices.....

 

[mongoose]

My wife and I are considering buy the “LifeVac”. Also, learn to do the Heimlich on yourself.

 

[SARGE67]

My wife and I are considering buy the “LifeVac”. Also, learn to do the Heimlich on yourself.

We got ours today.

 

[Glenn B]

Good idea to learn how to do a Heimlich maneuver on yourself. There are a couple of ways to do it as best I recall. Probably last had training in that about 7 to 10 years ago.