Choking Patient

Just out of curiosity....I retook my BLS class and it goes over the heimlich. Thats fine and dandy if you are in a mall or a public place.
But, What if a patient in bed is choking? What do we do and how?
The BLS instructor danced around my question and gave some remark about looking at hospital policy -
Thankfully this has never happened to me (yet) but if it happened to any of you - let me know.
Um, good question. I would think if it is possible get behind the pt. and do the thrusts.

OK, correct me if I am wrong....on an unconsious choking pt you are supposed to do chest compressions. (?) This should be covered in BLS, which should essentially be the hospital policy.

i am talking about a/o patient in bed high fowlers eating dindin and all of the sudden choking.It sounds silly but my brain is totally farting right now

Quote from abbakingi am talking about a/o patient in bed high fowlers eating dindin and all of the sudden choking.It sounds silly but my brain is totally farting right now

if they are A&O have them stand up and proceed with heimlich until it clears or they lose consciousness, then provide BLS as directed.

There's absolutely no reason why you can't perform Heimlich on a patient who is choking, after all at that point it's all about clearing the airway so a choking situation doesn't turn into a code situation. Also, in the hospital setting we have the advantage of something we don't have "in the field"... suction!

Whew! I sooooo thought that somebody had snapped and actually choked a patient. I mean, I could understand being driven to do it but was kinda curious if someone actually had done it.(nothing to see here.... move along)

Quote from EmergencyNrseWhew! I sooooo thought that somebody had snapped and actually choked a patient. I mean, I could understand being driven to do it but was kinda curious if someone actually had done it.(nothing to see here.... move along)

This happened to me unfortunately. Pt was in high fowlers eating breakfast, assessed him, and went to the med room to grab morning meds for my next Pt. When I walked out, I saw a HR of 35 on his tele, went in there, and he was unconscious. Began CPR, found food on his vocal chords during intubation. He didnt make it, unfortunately. He was quite elderly with little reserves.

I had a situation one time where a very large patient in a wheelchair needed the heimlick. I tried to get behind him, but couldn't get enough strength, so I had some one go get the sit to stand lift (was right next to him) & lift him up so I could get a better grip around him & it worked. This was at a LTC facility & I shipped him out for good measure, but he was just fine...I think in the hospital in this situation, I would call a code (since this is a life-threatening patient crisis) and try to get him either up or at least on the side of the bed to try to be in the best position possible to get better results...good question

Quote from montecarlo64I had a situation one time where a very large patient in a wheelchair needed the heimlick. I tried to get behind him, but couldn't get enough strength, so I had some one go get the sit to stand lift (was right next to him) & lift him up so I could get a better grip around him & it worked. This was at a LTC facility & I shipped him out for good measure, but he was just fine...I think in the hospital in this situation, I would call a code (since this is a life-threatening patient crisis) and try to get him either up or at least on the side of the bed to try to be in the best position possible to get better results...good question

I had a male resident who started choking on his meds. He was a big man and non ambulatory. He started coughing really bad and knew was struggling. I put him on high fowler's..eventually he was able to clear his throat. If he continued to be in distress my next move would have been to get on the bed and straddle him somewhat to do an abdominal thrust and get/ scream for back up.