Tag: choking

What to do if your child is choking?

31 March 2025/in Blog

Please download the below free PDF and print it out to put on your fridge, wall or anywhere to remind you what to do if your child is choking. The information is based on the Australian Resuscitation Council guidelines. A common mistake is to hit the child hard on the back while they are actually trying to cough up the blockage themselves. This can cause the blockage to go further into the airway and completely block the airway.

If your child is able to cough, speak or breathe then let them lean forward and keep trying to cough it out or let them lay over your lap and cough. If they are becoming more distressed and unable to cough or breathe then call the ambulance. If your child is unable to cough, breathe, talk or make little or no sounds then proceed with 5 back slaps across the shoulder blades with your child over your lap and then place your hand across the chest and give 5 gentle pushes into the chest (called chest thrusts). Call the ambulance. Alternate these until the child coughs out the blockage or the ambulance take over. Be prepared if your child falls unconscious to follow the DRSABCD steps of CPR.

Teach your children to make a noise to alert you if are not watching your children eat their food. Whether they bang the table, throw their food at you, stamp the floor or simply come to you if they are choking as they will be unable to speak or scream to alert you that they are in trouble.

It is always recommended to learn these life saving skills under guidance from a professional first aid trainer in a first aid course. This will give you more confidence to be able to help your children or others.

Choking Child

Contact First Aid Action on 07) 3901 0599 or email us at info@firstaidaction.qld.edu.au for more information about our courses.

Follow the steps of DRSABCD in an Emergency

3 March 2025/in Blog

Emergency Action Plan – DRSABCD

Do you know the below facts on Cardiac Arrest in Australia:

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Australia.
Only approximately 10% of people who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive.
Performing immediate CPR and attaching an AED (Defibrillator) by a bystander can significantly increase the chances of survival, potentially doubling or tripling the survival rate.
Nearly 80% or out-of-hospital cardiac arrest happens at home – so are you prepared?
Statistics indicate that men are more likely to experience cardiac arrest than women.

Learning how to perform CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) is important skill to have that you hope you will never need to use. A lot of people are caught out and not prepared when an emergency happens at home. Even just performing compressions on a person will give them a better survival rate than doing nothing. CPR is all about maintaining blood flow and oxygen around the body as the person’s heart is no longer pumping. Call the ambulance as soon as you can and use a Defibrillator if there is one nearby and follow the voice the prompts! Survival rates are greatly increased with the use of early defibrillation.

Learn the DRSABCD of CPR as per the attached flyer and practice these skills in a first aid course so that you are better prepared for an emergency. Give us a call if you wish to know more information about Cardiac Arrest, CPR, Defibrillators or you wish to come and learn first aid with us – 07)3901 0599.

Choking – Hit the person on the back or not?

17 February 2025/in Blog

You are out to dinner with some friends having a great time, chatting away, laughing and all of sudden one of your friends is choking on their food! They are coughing, still breathing but panicking! You give your friend a really hard hit on the back thinking that will help them but…….Oh No! They can now no longer cough or breathe!

Hitting a person hard on the back while they are trying to cough, can still breathe and talk can actually make it worse if they are choking. The force of the hit can cause the blockage to go further down their airway and completely block it if it is only partially blocked. Something that a lot of people don’t realise and think it is the right action to do.

There are two types of Choking (Airway Obstruction):

Partial Airway Obstruction: A partial obstruction is when a foreign object (most likely food) has partially cut off the airway. Signs include: coughing, difficulty in breathing or noisy breathing, talking (crying in babies).
1. First Aid for a Partial Obstruction is: Encourage the person to cough out the obstruction whilst leaning forward. If the cough becomes ineffective or the person is experiencing worsening breathing difficulty, then call the ambulance.
Full Airway Obstruction: A full airway obstruction is when the foreign object has completely cut off the airway. Signs include: unable to cough, breathe or talk, turning blue in the lips, panicking.
1. First Aid for a Full Obstruction is: Lean the casualty forward and administer 5 back slaps between the shoulder blades then administer 5 chest thrusts (pushing on their chest). Alternate these actions while the person is still conscious or able to cough the object out. Call the ambulance as soon as possible, and be prepared to follow the steps of DRSABCD when the person becomes unconscious.

Come and learn more about choking for adults, children and infants at our first aid courses and practice these actions so that you are well prepared for this type of emergency. Book yourself in now!Choking Infants Choking Child

Tag Archive for: choking

What to do if your child is choking?

Follow the steps of DRSABCD in an Emergency

Choking – Hit the person on the back or not?

First Aid can save lives

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