Choking--Hypothetical

[SilverSabre25]

I've never had a child, even my own, actually choke. Gag, yes, but not full on, Heimlich-needing, choking.

I learned in my CPR/First Aid course that you're supposed to call 911 for choking even if you get it resolved quickly and easily...is this accurate, and would you really call if you get the food/object dislodged really fast?

I guess, under what circumstances would you call 911 for choking?

[Oneluckymom]

Yes, I would still call 911. The reason it is still an emergency even if it is resolved is due to swelling that can occur in the air way after wards.

[dave4him]

Whew... so glad you threw the hypothetical part in there cause i was gonna say... dont post on the board if youre child is choking! I would call 911 in any instance because you are better safe than sorry

[Meyou]

One of my dd's choked when she was 18 months old. I did the Heimlich, dislodged the food and called 911. They took us in to check her out and let us go home after a couple of hours.

[Ariana]

We were told to use our best judgment. It would definately depend on the situation and how long the child was without oxygen IMO. Any child under 3 I'd call 911 no matter what.

[Daycaremomof2]

I had to dislodge a waffle with my finger the other day when one of my 1 year olds was choking. It scared the crap out of me! I didn't call 911, I don't think it really warranted an emergency call, and the whole ordeal was under 10 seconds.

I think I would call if I had to use Heimlich for sure.

[kendallina]

I would say use your judgment, but the child would need to be seen by a doctor (that day) to make sure there was no damage. That's what they said in my first aid class.

[jojosmommy]

Call 911, costs nothing to get checked out. Then call parents, tell them child will be seen and explain situation. Our first aid class also told us to teach kids how to show they are choking and what it looks like if a friend is choking as most kids get scared and hide.

[KDC]

Daughter choked...

Thankfully, it was presidents day (had teacher's for DCP's, so no daycare kids were here that day, and husband had day off work!) and my daughter was almost 3. (At the time I had a sick 4 yr old, a 2 yr. old and an infant!) I had gone to breakfast with a friend, came home to find my daughter & husband playing Toy Story Kerplunk. They were in the process of cleaning up when she decided to be 'silly' and put one of the little 'alien's' in her mouth, immediately we asked her to spit it out, both at the same time yelling at her, she went to 'pop' it out of her mouth, when it got stuck in her throat. She was breathing, but it was labored and she was spitting up blood. I immediately called 911, then tried mouth sweep (which in hind sight, I should NOT have done this! They said I could have pushed it down further or into her airway.) I am CPR trained... but it really needs to be refreshed OFTEN!

It was by far the worst day of my life! The ambulance came, I was able to go with my daughter and be a comfort to her, I can't imagine if she had to go through it alone. She had it surgically removed! We had the game for supervised play, but it happened SO quick. All toys that could fit in a toilet paper roll were REMOVED immediately. BTW, that little trip would have cost us $12,000 without insurance. There are so many things that could have made this so much worse, but it all ended up working out.

I would call 911 immediately, then perform CPR. Even if you were able to remove the obstruction, most insurances charge a mere $50 or $75 if the call is warranted (not a prank call) ...