Background: I have a really bad cough, and I was coughing up flem. I must have swallowed some, and I started coughing/gagging. It was really scary. I honestly thought that I was going to die. but I'm okay now. only shaking really really hard.
Posts: 459 | Registered: Dec 2004
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Drink a glass of room temp water. (I hate when my husband tells me this, but it does help.)
I'm getting over broncitis and a cold, which produces the exact same situation. It's terrifying. I found it helpful to walk around the room cussing. And then drink a glass of water. The cussing is very helpful, so don't skip that part.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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That is terrifying. I've seen that happen to two people. Trust me, there is nothing that makes the observer feel worse. There is absolutely nothing they can do for you.
The first time I saw it happen was to my mother. She swallowed jalapeño juice down the wrong pipe and we were scared to death.
The second time, it was watching my son when he did the same thing with chocolate. He' let it dissolve in his mouth while he was laying down and it just slid down the wrong pipe.
He thought I was rather mean or unconcerned. My husband thought he was choking and tried to help, but I asked my son if he had something in his throat and he said no. (Not that it stopped my husband from doing the Heimlich.) I tried to calm him down in soothing tones, telling him he was going to be okay and to relax and breathe really, really slowly.
When my son could finally breathe again (and was mad at me) I explained that I'd realized what was happening and that there was nothing we could do but wait for him to either be able to breathe or pass out. (I knew from previous experience with my husband that when he passed out, he'd relax enough to breathe.)
He still wasn't happy with me, but what can you do? I guess next time I'll break a rib doing the Heimlich so he knows I care.
Anyway, while it's terrifying for the person it's happening to, it also terrifying for the person watching because there is nothing they can do.
I'm glad you're breathing again. Take a deep, relaxing breath. And remember, don't do that again!
Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Oh, and my husband spent three months with laryngitis/hacking cough and passed out quite frequently. After the first dozen or so times, he learned from experience that when he started coughing and not being able to stop, he should sit down. Some of the wounds were funny though. My favorite was the rug burn on the forehead.
Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Unless you are either her actual sister or a cliched minority character, I'm going to have to kill you for calling her that.
Posts: 3564 | Registered: Sep 2001
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quote:I guess next time I'll break a rib doing the Heimlich so he knows I care.
Seriously, I heard that if the person is able to breathe at all, you should NOT do the Heimlich maneuver. Is that right?
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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Huh... I send stuff down teh wrong tube by accident all the time, but I never get a reaction like THAT. I just cough a whole bunch and can eventually breath again. But I never feel like I'm suffocating when I'm coughing like that. *boggle* Posts: 3295 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Um, it squirted out of the jalapeño she was eating at the time?
Bob, that was pretty much my point. I guess that even though it isn't good to do and I knew enough to know my husband shouldn't be doing that, my son felt like at least he cared enough to do something.
Remember, we're talking about my son here. It's not as if motivation or intelligence had anything to do with anything.
Remember that time we ate that one thing at that place when we were with that one person? It's just like that.
Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Oops, I hate double posting, but I do it often. Alcon, I've done it too, and not had that reaction. I think it has something to do with either how far down it gets or it's hitting something else, like the vocal chord which is automatically paralyzing the wind pipe. But both my son and mother were unable to either breathe or cough. They just stood there pointing and turning red.
Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001
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There is a good reason NOT to do the HM most of the time, except as a last resort....if someone has enough air to cough or talk, even if it is scary it isn't life threatening. They still have more than enough air to live, although it isn't comfortable, so you should call 911 and let them take the person to the hospital. If you do the HM when the airway isn't fully occluded you might just wedge it into the airway further, causing further harm. Also, if there is a sharp edge (like a bone) in the object that is blocking the airway, the HM may force the point into the side of the airway, causing internal bleeding.
The HM is great when the airway is completely blocked because one way of another the person will die without help...but in any other situation it can potentially take a minor issue that would have resolved itself and turn it into a terminal condition.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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