What is the Heimlich Maneuver?
The Heimlich maneuver is a first aid technique developed by Henry Heimlich in 1974 that allows the removal of foreign bodies that have escaped into the throat.
The Heimlich maneuver is a first aid technique developed by Henry Heimlich in 1974 that allows the removal of foreign bodies that have escaped into the throat.Until this period, first aid for drowning, which was performed only with back strokes, began to be performed in the form of a combination of back and abdominal blows, as it was found that the Heimlich maneuver gave more effective results in conscious patients. If a foreign object escapes and settles in the windpipe or throat, the air flow is blocked and suffocation results if it is not intervened. Both in infants and children, and in adults, this condition can occur at any moment. In adults, suffocation can develop by a piece of food entering the respiratory tract, while in children, both feeding and taking a non-food part, such as a toy, into the mouth. Especially in children under the age of 3, since the behavior of taking all kinds of objects seized to the mouth is common, it is within an important possibility for foreign matter to escape into the throat. There is a very short time for first aid in drowning, which leads to the interruption of oxygen supply to the brain, and the correct intervention should be applied as quickly as possible. With the delay of this intervention, the oxygen rate in the blood decreases, death begins in the brain cells, as the oxygen flow to the brain is interrupted, and if there is still no intervention, the final death occurs. In order to be prepared for such a situation, each individual should learn about the life-saving Heimlich maneuver, be able to perform this intervention for a person close to him if necessary.
When Is the Heimlich Maneuver Performed?
Suffocation can begin in an adult individual or in infants and children with the escape of a substance into the respiratory tract. Universal signs of suffocation, known to everyone, are the clamping of hands to the throat. Among the important signals of drowning in people who are unable to give any signs Decently or in small children and infants are the following:
* Inability to speak, make a sound and breathe
* Difficult or noisy breathing
* The appearance of squeaking sounds when the patient is trying to breathe
* Weak or severe cough
* Discoloration of the skin, lips and under the nails that darkens or turns blue
* The face and the skin in general first blush, then take on a pale or bluish tinge
* Loss of consciousness
If the individual somehow indicates that he is about to drown or shows symptoms as above, the person next to him should be ready to perform the Heimlich maneuver.
How is the Heimlich Maneuver Performed?
In order for a person in the process of drowning to be saved, it is very important to perform the Heimlich maneuver at the right time and in the right way. A person who shows signs of suffocation should first continue coughing if he can cough violently. If the person is choking, unable to speak, react or breathe, it is recommended to apply the five-to-five approach first for first aid. The five-five approach is applied as follows:
• If the drowning person is an adult, immediately stand on the back side, while the child kneels. One arm is placed on the person's chest for support, while the person is bent at the waist so that his upper body is parallel to the floor. The part between the shoulder blades on the back is struck 5 times with the heel of the Decapitated hand. If the object cannot be removed in this way, the Heimlich maneuver is started.
• For the Heimlich maneuver, the arms are wrapped around the patient from behind, one hand is placed in the middle part of the belly button with a horizontal fist where the sternum ends in the abdomen of the person. With the other hand, the fist is grasped. While the patient is tilted parallel to the floor, the maneuver is performed by turning the fist back and forward 5 times. This maneuver is performed in the form of applying hard pressure to the abdomen by applying a fast and upward thrust, as if trying to grasp the person and lift him up.
• When applying the Heimlich maneuver to a pregnant or obese person, the hands should be applied higher than in a normal maneuver and to the area just above the junction of the lowest ribs.
• If there is only one rescuer, back blows should be applied 5 times and abdominal blows 5 times before the ambulance is called, then the emergency hotline should be called. If there is a second rescuer, the medical team should be called immediately.
• If the object has not yet come out after the maneuver, the back stroke 5 times and the Heimlich maneuver 5 times should be continued until the foreign object comes out. If the object cannot be removed, the patient will be unconscious. In such a case, the patient should be placed on his back on the ground and basic life support should be started. Standard life support is performed in the form of consecutive chest compressions and artificial respiration to the unconscious patient lying on his back.
How is the Heimlich Maneuver Performed in Infants?
if a foreign body escapes into the throat in a baby under the age of 1 develops, first aid should be applied as follows:
* By moving to a sitting position, the baby is placed face down on the forearm resting on the thigh. While the baby's head and neck are supported by hand, the head should be positioned so that it is lower than the chest in alignment.
* With the heel part of the hand, a gentle but firm blow is applied to the middle part of the baby's back 5 times. Fingers should be held upwards during strokes, so as not to apply blows to the baby's head.
• If the object has not come out and the baby is still not breathing, the baby is again turned over the forearm, this time face up on the thigh, so that the head is lower than the body. 5 Quick chest compressions are performed with two fingers placed on the baby's breastbone.
• If breathing does not start, 5 back 5 chest strokes should be continued consecutively until the medical team arrives while calling for medical assistance. In order not to damage the internal organs and ribs, care should be taken to make effective pressures, being careful not to use too much force.
• If the respiratory tract cannot be opened with back blows and the Heimlich maneuver and consciousness is turned off, it is necessary to start basic life support with cardiopulmonary resuscitation or heart massage.
Especially for babies and children, it is not a remote possibility for foreign substances and toys that are ingested into the mouth to escape into the respiratory tract during play. In the same way, for adults, suffocation can begin with the escape of nutrients into the esophagus with a momentary absent-mindedness during eating. In many parts of the world, although the objects that escape into the respiratory tract can be easily removed with simple first aid techniques, it is observed that deaths occur due to lack of first aid knowledge. In order to avoid these, every individual should have acquired sufficient knowledge about the Heimlich maneuver to be able to apply first aid when necessary for himself and his relatives.
By learning Heimlich maneuver and application techniques, you can have information about first aid to be performed in drowning cases; you can reach the competence to save lives in emergency situations.
Things to Watch Out For in a Twin Baby
Every expectant mother and father is impatient about the arrival of their baby into the world. It's not easy, a new life will come to life, and the number of individuals in the family will increase by one more person. Of course, we should not forget that life is full of surprises, because in cases such as twin pregnancy, sometimes this excitement can be doubled. For this reason, there may be more question marks in the minds of parents. The formation of babies, their birth, etc. they wonder if it is more different in matters than single pregnancies.
Factors That Increase Multiple Pregnancy
While some of the twin pregnancies occur spontaneously, some of them occur due to procedures that help reproduction, such as vaccination, the use of pills that facilitate ovulation, IVF (IVF).
In the family have a history of multiple pregnancy, the mother in addition to other factors such as being overweight or tall than usual, advanced maternal age, from the Thirties onwards, the fertilization of multiple eggs in the same cycle of the female body to be ready for start due to multiple pregnancy increases the likelihood of.