What to Do If You Start to Choke on Your Own

If you, like Liz Lemon , are afraid of suffocating when you are home alone, knowing this procedure can give you some peace of mind and possibly save your life.

A study led by Arthur Luchak of the Canadian Center for Behavioral Neuroscience and published in the journal Resuscitation suggests two ways to use gravity to help expel a piece of food that is blocking your airways. The expanded scientific drawing above from the study itself shows two positions you can try if you think you are choking and no one is around to help you. The first method is akin to downward dog yoga, and the second is best if you have a chair that you can use for balance. The upside-down position helps to remove saliva and other fluids that can further obstruct your airflow when you are panting, especially if the object is semi-solid. Turning upside down, you can try back kicks and belly thrusts . The procedure is similar to how babies are treated when they may choke. You can read more about this at the link below.

Self-treatment of head-down choking | Resuscitation via Popular Science

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