Airway emergency - what would you have done.

"JJS" jschneider@REMOVE SOCKSpldi.net wrote in message
...
[...] I tried hitting her on the back hard enough that I
knew she'd kill me if she lived through the ordeal.

Ack. Thank goodness you didn't wind up lodging the obstruction in even
further. Remember: gravity is at work, even inside your body. Knock
something loose that's inside your airway, and the most likely place for it
to go is down.

The last thing a person having trouble breathing needs is a whack on the
back. At least, not until you turn them upside down. I'm surprised with
all your emergency medical training, no one's mentioned this.

The traditional Heimlich is done from behind, of course, but it seems to me
that with a strong enough arm, especially with a partial obstruction, you
might have had some luck from the side. Just get your fist in good under
her diaphragm (not, not THAT diaphragm...this is serious you guys ), and
push hard and quick, in the same motion you'd use from behind.

It would at least be worth a try.

Barring success getting the thing out quickly, I can't imagine flying all
the way to an airport, even one nearby. You should have appropriate landing
sites below you nearly all the time. A passenger choking seems to me to be
just as serious as an airplane on fire, and would warrant an emergency
descent to an off-airport landing so that proper first-aid (e.g. a real
from-behind Heimlich) can be given.

Pete