First aid: how to help someone who's choking on things or food

First aid can be done at home to treat choking. You can treat the little problem and get to the emergency room if it's a serious problem like bleeding and severe pain or infections. The key to treatment is to avoid infections and further injury.

Choking often occur with children, or the elderly, medically ill with swallowing problems, and at restaurants. The signs and symptoms of choking include: difficulty breathing, talking, waving for help, can't talk, skin, lips and nails are blue in color, loss of alertness, non-responsive.

What should you do when you see someone choking? You can do several things to help but only if you're licensed or know exactly what to do so that the problem doesn't persist more. You can do Heimlich maneuver and back blow. You can alternate between the two until you see the article is removed. You should have them rest after you have removed the agent.

You should call the paramedic right away if you can't seem to help the person. You should have someone call the paramedic for you while you're trying to help the person. You can prevent choking by cutting all your solid foods out, eat more liquid than solids if you have swallowing problems and drink with foods too to help it move down more smoothly. You should prevent choking for high risk individuals like someone who has a throat or esophageal problem or a baby or an elderly person or a disoriented person. You should take immediate help for the person that is choking.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/firstaid