What should you do for a conscious adult with a foreign-body airway obstruction?

What should you do for a conscious adult with a foreign-body airway obstruction?

• A. Follow age-appropriate choking relief maneuvers (back blows and abdominal thrusts for adults)
• B. Perform chest compressions only
• C. Start CPR immediately
• D. Ignore the obstruction

Answer: (A)

When someone is conscious and has a foreign-body airway obstruction, the immediate action is choking relief maneuvers designed to dislodge the object while they can still respond. For adults, this means a sequence of back blows and abdominal thrusts. If the person is coughing, encourage them to keep coughing and stay with them, since coughing can often clear the airway on its own. If coughing stops or the person cannot speak, breathe, or has severe trouble, perform five back blows between the shoulder blades, then five abdominal thrusts, and repeat the cycle until the object is expelled or the person becomes unresponsive. If the person becomes unresponsive, call for help and begin CPR starting with chest compressions, and check the mouth for the object before delivering rescue breaths. That approach is why this choice is correct: it directly targets removing the obstruction while the person remains conscious. Chest compressions only, starting CPR immediately, or ignoring the obstruction aren’t appropriate when the person can still respond and is choking.

When someone is conscious and has a foreign-body airway obstruction, the immediate action is choking relief maneuvers designed to dislodge the object while they can still respond. For adults, this means a sequence of back blows and abdominal thrusts. If the person is coughing, encourage them to keep coughing and stay with them, since coughing can often clear the airway on its own. If coughing stops or the person cannot speak, breathe, or has severe trouble, perform five back blows between the shoulder blades, then five abdominal thrusts, and repeat the cycle until the object is expelled or the person becomes unresponsive. If the person becomes unresponsive, call for help and begin CPR starting with chest compressions, and check the mouth for the object before delivering rescue breaths.

That approach is why this choice is correct: it directly targets removing the obstruction while the person remains conscious. Chest compressions only, starting CPR immediately, or ignoring the obstruction aren’t appropriate when the person can still respond and is choking.