When someone is choking, they may be unable to breathe properly. Find out what to look for and how to perform first aid.
When someone is choking, their airway is partly or completely blocked, meaning they may be unable to breathe properly. They might be able to clear it by coughing, but if they can't, you will need to help them straight away.
Look for:
difficulty breathing, speaking, or coughing
a red, puffy face
signs of distress, they may point to their throat or grasp their neck
If you think someone is choking, ask them, ‘are you choking?' If they can breathe, speak, or cough, then they might be able to clear their own throat. If they cannot breathe, cough, or make any noise, then they need your help straight away.
Cough it out. Encourage them to cough and remove any obvious obstruction from their mouth.
Hit it out. If coughing fails to work, you need to give five sharp back blows.
To do this, help them to lean forwards, supporting their upper body with one hand.
With the heel of your other hand, give them five sharp back blows between their shoulder blades.
After each back blow, check to see if there’s anything in their mouth.
Squeeze it out. If back blows fail to clear the obstruction, give five abdominal thrusts.
To do this, stand behind them and put your arms around their waist.
Place one hand in a clenched fist between their belly button and the bottom of their chest.
With your other hand, grasp your fist and pull sharply inwards and upwards up to five times. Check their mouth again after each thrust.
If the blockage has not cleared, call 999 or 112 for emergency help straight away. Repeat five back blows and five abdominal thrusts until help arrives, checking their mouth each time.
If they become unresponsive at any point, prepare to start adult CPR.
As England's first aid charity, we take pride in providing guidance you can trust. We are regulated by the CareQuality commission and provide first aid care for thousands of patients every year. All our advice is regularly checked and updated by our clinical team, led by Dr Lynn Thomas.
When it comes to injury or health concerns, it's important to find information which is accurate and up to date. Some websites or tools like AI search may give you advice based on ideas without strong medical evidence, which could cause harm. They might also suggest older techniques which are no longer used.
Always check a trusted source, such as the NHS website, or call 111 if you're unsure about a course of action.
