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Choking care for adults, children, and infants

A severe blockage means the person cannot cough, speak, or breathe. Mild choking, with a strong cough, is watched rather than treated with thrusts.

Caregiver with an older adult in a kitchen
Ask “Are you choking?” A person who can speak and cough forcefully should be encouraged to keep coughing.
Call 911 if the person cannot breathe, cough, or speak, or if care does not clear the blockage. If they become unresponsive, start CPR.

Adults and children

The 2025 emergency cardiovascular care update tells rescuers to alternate five back blows and five abdominal thrusts until the object comes out or the person becomes unresponsive. Stand to the side and slightly behind for back blows, and strike between the shoulder blades with the heel of the hand. For abdominal thrusts, stand behind, make a fist just above the navel, grasp it with the other hand, and pull inward and upward.

Do not use abdominal thrusts on an infant, and use them cautiously late in pregnancy or if the person is much larger than you. Chest thrusts are the substitute in those cases. A course is the right place to practice hand placement.

Infants

Support the infant face-down along your forearm, head lower than the chest, and give five back blows. Turn the infant face-up and give five chest thrusts with the heel of one hand on the lower half of the breastbone. Repeat. Do not use abdominal thrusts on an infant.

If the person collapses

Lower them to a firm surface, call for help if you have not already, and start CPR. Each time you open the airway for a breath, look for an object. Remove it only if you can see it. Do not perform a blind finger sweep.