back blows
Emergency airway strikes
Back blows are sharp strikes delivered between the shoulder blades to dislodge an object from a choking person's airway.
The technique involves hitting firmly with the heel of the hand while the person leans forward: She gave the child five back blows, then checked his mouth.
Often combined with abdominal thrusts in first aid protocols.
- chokingBlocked airway condition
- choking hazardItem risking airway blockage
- foreign objectItem where it shouldn't be
- infantVery young child
- airwayPassage for breath
obstruction · dislodge · thump · rescue · first aid · coughing · throat · emergency · slap · forceful · heel · shoulder blades · infant CPR · lifesaving · life or death · suffocation · gasping · blockage
- choking rescueHeimlich maneuver, abdominal thrusts
- airway managementairway, intubation, extubation, laryngoscope, tracheostomy