Choking Facts and Effectiveness of BLS Choking Protocol

Choking remains one of the leading causes of accidental death in adults over the age of 65 and children 5 years old and under

 

But why if so many people take first aid courses?

First aid is a must have skill and everyone should take first aid classes. But what most people don't know about first aid BLS choking protocol is that it's only 70 - 76% effective when performed correctly in a "perfect" situation. Sadly when it comes to choking, a large majority of people think "I have taken my first aid course, all I have to do is follow what I was taught and it'll pop right out". When these protocolsÊ fail the devastation that follows is unimaginable for the casualty, family members, healthcare professionals and rescuers. There are many reasons why these BLS first aid choking protocols may fail and many conditions that people suffer from that the protocols do not take into account. Some of the reasons why these protocols may not work are reasons such as frailty, obesity and physical impairments (such as being a wheelchair user). For example, if someone isÊ a wheelchair user the rescuer may not be able to get their arms around the casualty to perform the abdominal thrusts, or if the person cannot be moved from their wheelchair they cannot receive back blows or abdominal thrusts. This means the 70-76% effectiveness of BLS choking protocol has decreased to 0-30% effective depending on the underlying medical conditions. With 75 million people around the world relying on a wheelchair for daily tasks, this is something that needs to be addressed swiftly. Even with BLS choking first aid protocols being 70-76% effective in a perfect situation, there is still huge room for improvement to increase protocols to as close to a 100% effective as possible.https://dev-lifevac.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/choking.jpg

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Children

Foods that are classed as a choking risk are things such as grapes, marshmallows, hard boiled sweets, chewy sweets such as Haribo and hot dogs. It is always recommended to cut food up for children, for example you would not give a whole grape to a child as these are a ÒperfectÓ size to block their airway, it is recommended to cut grapes in to length way halves at minimum. Infants, children and young people with a neurodisability and those born prematurely are most likely to be at risk of dysphagia, but feeding difficulties also occur in typically developing children.

Toys

Small toys such as bouncy balls, pens caps, marbles and toys that have small parts are best kept away from children as they learn texture and taste in their developing process by putting items in their mouth. Most toys come with an age recommendation on the outer packaging, this to prevent the risk of choking. According to State Figures ¥ At least one child dies from choking on food every five days in the U.S., and more than 12,000 children are taken to a hospital emergency room each year for food-choking injuries. ¥ The size of a young childÕs trachea (windpipe) or breathing tube is approximately the size of a drinking straw in diameter. Imagine a piece of popcorn being lodged in this small area!

LifeVac

  This is where LifeVac comes in to play and has saved hundreds of lives in choking emergencies when all other methods have failed or cannot be performed. Suction is a known successful method, in removing airway obstructions. In fact suction is promoted withinÊ ÊALS and ILS choking guidelines, these suction machines and devices are used on a daily basis by emergency services, hospitals, care and nursing home providers. These suction machines and devices, come with tubes that risk pushing obstruction further down, or the tubes can become blocked rendering the devices inadequate. They can also be very costly and impractical to move as they are not very portable. With these devices having tubes that protrude into the oral cavity they also risk causing further complications such as oral damage or pushing the tongue/obstruction back in an emergency situation. LifeVac is an easy to use, non-invasive and inexpensive alternative to these devices, that also has more medical evidence than any other suction device currently on the market, proving safety, effective and ease of use. Even with direct comparison studies against other suction devices and choking protocol methods. LifeVac is not intended to replace the abdominal thrusts or back blows, but to be used in conjunction when these methods fail or cannot be performed.