Choking- the Heimlich Manoeuvre
Incidence
This often occurs on two occasions:
- A pet has tried to swallow a bone that is too big to pass down the throat
- A dog has jumped up into the air to catch a small ball and had the ball go down the back of the throat and get stuck there.
If you are doing mouth to nose respiration and the chest refuses to rise
it may be that there is a foreign body in the windpipe
especially if you can’t see anything in the back
of the throat that could be causing an obstruction
Symptoms
- Very distressed
- Going blue in the gums
- Frantic pawing at the mouth
- Salivating/drooling excessively
- Difficult breathing
- Cant get the chest to rise
Treatment- the Heimlich Manoeuvre
- Check that there is nothing causing an obstruction at the back of the throat first.
- If pet is not too big, pick it up whilst standing and place it head down with its back along your lap
- Put your arms around the stomach and clasp them just below the rib cage
- Squeeze both the chest wall and abdomen together suddenly
- Keep repeating until foreign body is dislodged or it is apparent the foreign body is not able to be dislodged or another cause of the airway obstruction is present
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