This activity will teach your family how to use these techniques. When someone is seriously choking, he will become pale and turn a bluish color. He may perspire and collapse. The signs of choking are often confused with those of a heart attack. But you can tell when someone is choking because he will be unable to speak.
Time is a critical factor when someone is choking.
Breathing must be restored within four minutes, or else brain damage may result. The person will die within eight minutes. So there is no time to call for a doctor or rescue vehicle. The abdominal thrust, or Heimlich maneuver, is the preferred method. Place the thumb side of your fist against the victim's abdomen, slightly above the navel and below the tip of the breastbone.