First aid for choking

First aid for suffocation depends on the cause. Suffocation is a consequence of bronchospasm or acute bronchial obstruction.

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How to relieve an attack of suffocation?

To help the patient relieve an attack of suffocation, the following steps should be taken:

• It is necessary to take several shallow breaths in and out, then hold your breath. This manipulation saturates the blood with carbon dioxide, and its increased concentration relaxes the bronchi and restores breathing;
• Try to exhale all the air from your lungs, then take in small short breaths. Breathing will gradually return to normal.
• Press the patient's chest hard with the palms of your hands while exhaling. Do this 10 times. This technique dramatically reduces the attack of suffocation.
• Use a dosed inhaler with a vasodilator drug. Salbutamol, Berotek, Brikanil, etc. are good choices. If the condition has not improved, repeat the inhalation after 20 minutes. Avoid overdosing, as side effects may occur: increased heart rate, weakness, headache.
• Take a tablet of euphyllin, ephedrine or any antihistamine (suprastin, claretin, tavegil, etc.). Hormonal drugs (prednisolone, dexamethasone, hydrocortisone) have a good effect.

The condition will improve significantly if there is an influx of fresh air. In any case, the person begins to get nervous, his anxiety turns into panic. Help him relax and calm down.

First aid for asthma attacks

During an attack of suffocation, the nurse should act according to the following plan:

Actions	Justification
1. Make an urgent call to an ambulance or a doctor	To receive qualified treatment
2. Create comfortable conditions: fresh air, comfortable position of the patient. Get rid of excess clothing in the throat and chest area.	Reduction of hypoxia. Positive emotional state.
3. Measure pulse, respiratory rate, blood pressure	Monitoring the general condition of the patient
4. Supply of humidified oxygen 30-40%.	Reduction of oxygen starvation (hypoxia)
5. Using a metered aerosol, inhale salbutamol, birotek, etc. no more than 1-2 breaths to avoid overdose	Relief of bronchial spasms
6. Do not use other inhalers and medications.	Preventing the development of resistance to bronchodilators and preventing asthmatic status
7. Place feet and hands in hot water. Give plenty of warm drinks.	Reduction of reflex bronchospasm
8. If the above measures have no effect, administer an injection of 2.4% euphyllin solution 10 ml and prednisolone 60-90 mg.	Localization of an attack of suffocation of moderate and severe stages.
8. Prepare an ambu bag (manually operated apparatus for ventilation of the lungs), an artificial lung ventilation apparatus (ALV).	Conducting resuscitation measures in case of emergency.

When the ambulance arrives, the patient is hospitalized in the intensive care unit.

First aid for an attack of suffocation

If you become an unwitting witness to an attack of suffocation (asphyxia), you need to provide the patient with first aid, which consists of the following:

• immediately call an ambulance, calmly and clearly explaining to the dispatcher the information about the patient’s condition and the main symptoms of the attack;
• if the patient is conscious, calm him down, explain what measures you have taken to help him;
• create conditions for fresh air circulation, remove excess clothing in the throat and chest area;
• the cause of suffocation may be a foreign body in the larynx. Try to squeeze the chest hard, mechanically forcing it into the respiratory tract. Then you need to give the person a chance to cough;
• if a sudden attack of suffocation occurs and the person loses consciousness, moreover, there is no breathing or pulse, try to perform a cardiac massage and artificial respiration;
• a consequence of an attack of suffocation may be the tongue falling back. The patient should be laid on his back, head turned to the side. The tongue should be pulled out and attached (it can even be pinned) to the lower jaw;
• The cause of suffocation may be chronic diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, tracheitis, heart failure, etc. The patient may have pills or an inhaler with medication. Help him take the medication before the ambulance arrives;
• If asphyxia occurred due to an allergic reaction, it is necessary to determine the allergen if possible and immediately take an antihistamine (diphenhydramine, tavegil, loratadine, etc.). The patient needs to drink a lot of fluids, which will help remove the allergen from the body.

A person's life depends on how competently and professionally first aid was provided.

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Mild cases

It is necessary to provide access to fresh air, inhale the medicinal drug using an individual inhaler (with or without a spacer), and give the patient hot water or tea to drink.

Relief of severe asthma attacks

• Nebulized administration of a β-tea2-adrenergic agonist (first check the therapy already carried out to exclude an overdose) or another bronchodilator drug for nebulizer therapy;
• Intravenous administration of aminophylline (euphyllin) 2.4% solution in the amount of 10 ml (possibly with cardiac glycoside 0.5-1.0 ml);
• Intravenous administration of glucocorticoids (dexamethasone 8-12-16 mg);
• Oxygenotharpy.

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Status asthmaticus

In the development of asthmatic status, the effect of administered glucocorticoids, aminophylline (euphylline), sympathomimetics (including subcutaneous administration of 0.5 ml of 0.1% epinephrine (adrenaline) solution, which is especially indicated for a drop in blood pressure) may be insufficient. Then auxiliary ventilation of the lungs or transfer to artificial ventilation of the lungs is necessary. To decide on the inhalation of oxygen, as well as for subsequent monitoring of blood oxygenation and ventilation of the lungs, the gas composition and pH of the blood are determined.

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First aid for suffocation due to left ventricular failure

• Place the patient in a sitting position (in case of hypotension, semi-sitting).
• Give nitroglycerin 2-3 tablets, or 5-10 drops under the tongue, or 5 mg per minute intravenously under blood pressure monitoring.
• *Administer oxygen therapy with an antifoaming agent (96% ethyl alcohol or antifoamsilane) through a mask or nasal catheter.
• •To deposit blood on the periphery, apply venous tourniquets or elastic bandages to three limbs, compressing the veins (the pulse on the artery below the tourniquet must be preserved). Every 15 minutes, one of the tourniquets is transferred to a free limb.

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Emergency aid in case of foreign body ingestion

Push-like standing of the abdomen (standing from the side of the victim's back, grab him and with a sharp, pushing movement press inward and upward under the ribs). In this case, the foreign body is mechanically pushed out by the residual volume of air due to the pressure difference. After removing the foreign body, the patient should be allowed to cough, bending his body forward.

If a foreign body gets into the respiratory tract of a child aged 1-3 years, place the child face down on your lap and deliver several sharp short blows with your palm between the child's shoulder blades. If the foreign body does not come out, use the Heimlich maneuver: lay the victim on his side, place the palm of your left hand on the epigastric region, and deliver 5-7 short blows to the left hand at an angle towards the diaphragm with the fist of your right hand.

If there is no effect, the patient is placed on the table, the head is bent back, the oral cavity and larynx area are examined (direct laryngoscopy is best) and the foreign body is removed with fingers, tweezers or another instrument. If breathing is not restored after removal of the foreign body, mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration is performed.

If necessary - tracheotomy, conicotomy or tracheal intubation.

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First aid for hysterical suffocation

In hysteroid asthma, psychotropic drugs will be affective, in severe cases - anesthesia. In the case of hysteroid suffocation with spasm of the vocal cords, inhalation of hot water vapor is additionally required.

Suspicion of true croup requires the implementation of all anti-epidemic measures, consultation with an ENT doctor and an infectious disease specialist.

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