Call emergency services immediately if the person cannot breathe, speak, cough, or turn blue/gray.
If the person can cough forcefully, encourage coughing and stay with them.
If the person is choking and cannot breathe or cough effectively, perform abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver).
Stand or kneel behind the person.
Wrap your arms around the person’s waist.
Make a fist with one hand, thumb side in.
Place the fist just above the person’s navel and below the ribcage.
Grasp your fist with your other hand.
Pull sharply inward and upward with quick thrusts until the object comes out or the person can breathe.
For a child: use abdominal thrusts with less force.
If the person becomes unresponsive: start CPR and follow dispatcher instructions.
For a pregnant person or very obese person: use chest thrusts in the center of the chest (not the abdomen).
If the person is choking but you are alone: call emergency services and perform abdominal thrusts on yourself (fist above the navel, thrust inward and upward against a firm surface like the back of a chair).
If the object comes out: check breathing and seek medical evaluation, especially if coughing persists or breathing is difficult.