In medical use, choking is the blocking of a person's trachea by a foreign object, vomitus, blood or other fluids. Choking is a medical emergency, as choking will prevent regular airflow.

Even when performed correctly, choking procedure can internally injure the person it is performed on. Abdominal thrusts should only be performed on a person with a poor or no air exchange. Those wishing to learn how to treat choking should take first aid / CPR training from a qualified instructor. Reading the Wikipedia is not a substitute for first aid training. Moreover, since the Wikipedia may be altered by anyone at anytime, some parts of the article may be inaccurate.

First Aid

The first aid for choking is assess the casualty first. If the casualty has a partially open airway, i.e. they can still cough and gag, do NOT call for help yet. If the person can get the obstruction out themselves before the paramedics arrive, valuable emergency resources would have been wasted. The first aid at this point should only be to stand by and encourage coughing. Only when the casualty shows signs of a completely blocked airway, i.e. no sound, bluish face and when coughing and gagging is impossible, then medical help should be called for using the emergency telephone number. When the casualty has no air exchange, the first aid procedure is to clear the obstruction from the airway using abdominal thrusts. Do not administer back slaps, as these may cause further injury by lodging the obstruction deeper into the airway. Artificial respiration may be required afterwards when the casualty encounters breathing problems. Intubation is the advanced medical procedure indicated, which can be performed by paramedics in the field.