If someone is choking and can’t speak, stand behind them (age 1 and over) and perform 5 back blows followed by 5 abdominal thrusts; if they collapse, start CPR immediately
First ask, "Are you choking? Can you speak?" If they can still cough or make sound, let them cough on their own. For those aged 1 year and older who cannot speak, stand behind them and perform 5 back blows followed by 5 abdominal thrusts; for pregnant women and very obese individuals, switch to chest thrusts. Repeat until the object is expelled or the person collapses; if they collapse, perform CPR and have someone else call emergency services at the same time. Do not reach into the mouth to retrieve unseen objects.
No cost involved. To perform the technique: make a fist wi…
Original text from the U.S. National Library of Medicine: First ask, "Are you choking? Can you speak?" "If the…
No cost involved. To perform the technique: make a fist with one hand and place it just above the navel, then wrap the other hand around it and deliver quick inward and upward thrusts.
Original text from the U.S. National Library of Medicine: First ask, "Are you choking? Can you speak?" "If they can cough forcefully and speak, do not intervene," as coughing itself can often expel the foreign object. If they cannot speak, "repeatedly perform 5 back blows followed by 5 abdominal thrusts until the object comes out or the person loses consciousness." "If they lose consciousness, begin CPR," while simultaneously calling for emergency services. For pregnant women and obese individuals, perform chest thrusts instead. The 2025 International Red Cross First Aid Guidelines state: do not reach your fingers into the mouth to blindly search, as this may push the object deeper; only use fingers to remove solids that are visible.
US National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus. Choking – adult or child over 1 year. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000047.htm；福州市卫生健康委员会 (2026). 海姆立克急救法更新了：「1岁以上幼儿、儿童及成人：从旧版单一腹部冲击改为"5次背部拍击+5次腹部冲击"的循环」「中国红十字系统急救培训一直都是按"5次背部拍击+5次腹部冲击"循环进行的方式进行教学」. https://www.fuzhou.gov.cn/zgfzzt/swjw/fzwj/jkkp/202601/t20260108_5268351.htm；International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (2025). International First Aid, Resuscitation and Education Guidelines 2025，第 238 页：「First aid providers should not use a blind finger sweep in people with a foreign-body airway obstruction as this may push the object further down the person's airway」. https://www.ifrc.org/sites/default/files/2026-03/IFRC%20International%20First%20Aid,%20Resuscitation%20and%20Education%20Guidelines%202025.pdf
Open source linkDo not reach into the mouth to retrieve unseen objects, as this will push them deeper. Do not give back blows on someone who can still cough. The primary beneficiaries are family members dining together. First-aid training in China follow this same method. The Fujian Provincial Red Cross Emergency First Aid Training Center states that the China Red Cross system has always taught it this way. For children aged 1 year and older and adults, perform cycles of 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts. Many old tutorials online only teach abdominal thrusts, which is an outdated version. For infants under 1 year old, do not press the abdomen; instead, press the chest, as seen in item 43 of this section (Infant Choking).