National Heimlich Maneuver Day is celebrated on June 1 every year. This day is to show respect to the person who presented Heimlich Maneuver technique. This technique is also referred to as Abdominal Thrusts. American Red Cross says that “choking causes over 3,000 deaths annually”. This day is the best day to learn about this technique to save precious lives in the times of need. Use of Abdominal Thrusts to dislodge objects from the throat of the choking person is referred to as the Heimlich Maneuver. Just imagine, you are enjoying a really nice dinner with your family on a special occasion. Dinner includes mashed potatoes, roasted chicken, cranberry sauce and stuffing. during the chat while having dinner, your uncle Tom suddenly rolls to his feet, his face turns red, and he is gasping for air. What should you do? The answer is that you should apply Heimlich Maneuver technique on him. How to apply this technique? Well, the detailed procedure is discussed just a little below.
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History of National Heimlich Maneuver Day
Dr. Henry Heimlich invented this method to dislodge objects from the throat of choking person in 1974. As per our records and research, the first person or the initiator of National Heimlich Maneuver Day, is still unknown.
Heimlich Maneuver Steps
First of all, ask someone to dial 911 (Emergency Number) and report the issue and follow the Heimlich Maneuver in the meantime. Although recommended by some first aid classes, do not slap the victims back before using Heimlich Maneuver. It can make it worse by pushing the object further down the trachea. After rescue, visit a physician as soon as possible.
Heimlich Maneuver Adult
- Clutch the victim’s waist from behind.
- Make a fist and place the thumb side of your fist on his abdomen, above the navel.
- Grasp your fist with the other hand, lean him forward and slightly give him a few quick upward thrust. (Do not squeeze the rib-cage)
- Repeat until object is dislodged.
- If the victim has not recovered or become unconscious, proceed with artificial respiration (CPR).
Heimlich Maneuver Unconscious Adult
- Place the victim on his back.
- Place one of your hand on top of the other on the victim’s abdomen (above Navel and below rib-cage).
- Use your body weight to give quick upward thrust to the victim.
- Repeat until object is dislodged.
- If the victim has not recovered, proceed with artificial respiration (CPR).
Heimlich Maneuver Baby
- Hold the victim on your lap facing away from you.
- Place middle and index fingers of both of your hands on the victim’s abdomen (above Navel and below rib-cage).
- Press the fingers gently on the victim’s abdomen with a quick upward thrust.
- Repeat until object is dislodged.
- If the victim has not recovered or become unconscious, proceed with artificial respiration (CPR).
Heimlich Maneuver Self
- Make a fist and place the thumb side of your fist on your abdomen, just above the navel and below the rib-cage.
- Grasp your fist with the other hand, press your abdomen with a few quick upward thrust. (Do not squeeze the rib-cage)
- Repeat until object is dislodged.
Or you can also follow the method below
- Lean over a fixed horizontal object like table edge, chair, or railing etc.
- Press your abdomen (above navel) against the edge to produce quick upward thrust.
- Repeat until object is dislodged.
Heimlich Maneuver VS Back Slaps
- Before Heimlich Maneuver, Back Slaps method was well practiced, usually to the nearly drowned victims. A choking person was slapped on the back multiple times until he spits out the object, or has become unconscious. But Dr. Heimlich several other people assume that it can lead the object to get more stuck. As a matter of fact, it actually depends upon the place of throat where exactly the object has been stuck.
- In 2006, American Red Cross recommended that rather than Heimlich Maneuver, call 911 and give 5-7 Back Slaps. If this doesn’t help, then try 5-7 Abdominal Thrusts.
- It needs to be kept in consideration that Red Cross is using word “Abdominal Thrust” instead of Heimlich Maneuver. The reason behind that is unknown, but Red Cross says that they have changed it to better reflect how it works. There are also many reviews which says that Dr. Henry Heimlich refused to let them use his name since he was unhappy with the change in recommendations.
- Peter Heimlich, the son of Dr. Henry Heimlich, has accused his father of being “a fraud” and of stealing someone else’s study, a number of times. But still he doesn’t deny that Heimlich Maneuver is an effective method to save the life of choking victim.
- Dr. Henry Heimlich often referred back blows or back slaps publicly as “death blows”.
- According to Kraft, Heimlich Maneuver has rescued more than 50,000 lives in past three decades. Most renowned peoples include, Former President Ronald Reagan, Walter Matthau, Goldie Hawn and former Mayor of New York Ed Koch.
I am neither a doctor nor I am going to give you medical advice, but I might suggest to adhere to the method which saved the lives of presidents, mayors and actors, which is Heimlich Maneuver.
How to Celebrate National Heimlich Maneuver Day
The best way of celebrating National Heimlich Maneuver Day is to learn and to teach the Heimlich Maneuver techniques. This can help people saving priceless and precious lives of others. You can get yourself certified with this technique on American Red Cross to gain more confidence. You should also share these techniques on social websites, and mention Dr. Heimlich in hashtags of your posts. After teaching, you should wish each other “Happy National Heimlich Maneuver Day“.