Infant Choking

Infants will not know be able to tell us that they are choking. When an infant is choking, he or she will kick, thrash and try to scream. No sound will come out and they will quickly become cyanotic (bluish discoloration of the skin). We cannot do the Heimlich Maneuver on an infant. Pick up the infant and turn him or her upside down. While resting your arm against your leg as shown in the illustration, hold the victim face down. Give 5 back blows between the shoulder blades of the victim. Then flip the victim over and give 5 chest thrusts by compressing in the same place we did compressions during CPR. Continue to give 5 back blows followed by 5 chest thrusts until the obstruction is relieved or the victim becomes unconscious.