I’m a paramedic and here’s why you should never put fingers in a baby’s mouth if they’re choking…plus what to do instead
AS many parents will know, children will put all sorts of objects into their mouths.
But due to their size, children are more at risk of choking because their airways are smaller.
A small bite could soon cause trouble – and it’s best that you’re prepared for the event.
Fortunately, a paramedic has shared her tips for dealing with a child that is choking and has warned that you should never put your fingers in a child’s throat when they are choking.
Instead, Nikki Jurcutz, who works as the CEO of the parenting organisation Tiny Hearts Education, advised that parents should focus on ‘back blows’ and ‘chest thrusts’ to remove any blockages from a child’s throat.
The Australian paramedic shared a very informative video to TikTok, where her parenting page has a whopping 289.9k followers and 8million likes on the video-sharing platform.
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She uploaded her video with the caption ‘If your little one is choking, don’t stick your fingers down their throat. This video shows you why’.
She demonstrated: “This tube is the size of a child’s airway.
“If your little one has a complete obstruction, no air can get in or out.
“Getting it out with your fingers could push it down further.
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“Back blows and chest thrusts are your only option and are very effective when done correctly”.
In the video, we see a demonstration using a see-through tube and a tomato.
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Nikki puts the tomato in the tube and shows how trying to get it out with fingers can actually make it worse and cause it to get stuck even further down.
She then demonstrates how just a few taps on the tube with the palm of a hand can move the blockage and release it from the top of the tube – in other words, a child’s airway.
The educational post has quickly racked up a whopping 1.1million views in just 12 hours.
It has 86.5k likes, 405 comments and 3,222 shares.
Many parents were thankful for the advice and quickly took to the comments to express this.
One person said: “This is such a great demonstration to why this is the best method, thank you”.
Another added: “For the first time, I’ve clearly understood the manoeuvre required, due to this brilliant demo. Thank you”.
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A third commented: “I’m a nurse and this is the best representation I have ever seen!!!”
Someone else noted: “This is so helpful! The visual is amazing. I have three kids and them chocking is a big fear of mine!”