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The Heimlich maneuver I discussed before is not usually done in infants.
This is because abdominal thrusts are commonly associated with liver trauma
hence are avoided. There are several maneuvers that can be done in infants.
These are: Back blows, Chest thrusts, Jaw lift, and Ventilation.
Back blows are done by placing the infant in a head-down face-down
position in your left forearm which is angulated to 60 degrees. The head and
the neck should be stabilized. The infant’s forearm should be resting on
your knee which is in flexed position. While in this position rapidly
administer four back blows between the scapulae using the heel of your right
hand.
If the back blows fail to remove the obstruction, do the chest thrusts.
This is done with the infant in a supine position and lying on a firm
surface. Using two fingers of your right hand, place them above the sternum
and administer four rapid chest thrusts.
If there is still no breathing lift the jaw of the child in a sniffing
position, open the mouth and inspect for presence of foreign body. Do not
perform blind finger sweeps inside the child’s mouth as this may aggravate
the situation.
Perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or bag-mask technique if the above
procedures fail. Repeat this procedure several times or you can repeat
everything altogether before proceeding to intubation. Intubation or
cricothyroidotomy should be done by an expert.
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