Although oxygen stored in the blood and lungs can keep a person alive for several minutes after breathing stops,[1] choking often leads to death.

In the case of long term foreign body aspiration, patients may present with signs of lobar pneumonia or pleural effusion.

[17] In one study, peanuts were the most common object found in the airway of children evaluated for suspected foreign body aspiration.

[17] Children younger than age three are especially at risk of choking due to lack of fully developed chewing habits, and the tendency to insert object in their mouth as they explore the environment.

[23] For choking episodes that require emergent evaluation by a doctor, several tools can be used for diagnosis, each with their advantages and drawbacks.

This can produce several kinds of fists, but any of them can be valid if it can be placed on the victim's chest without sinking a knuckle too painfully.

Keeping the fist with both hands, the rescuer uses it to press forcefully inwards on the lower half of the chest bone (sternum).

"[46] As of October 22, 2024, The American Red Cross has updated its guidelines to include antichoking devices which highlighted the LifeVac for its effectiveness in clearing the airway passages.

According to the findings, the evaluation on PubMed records from September 2019 through March 2023 which identified nearly 4,000 documents relating to the study which was significantly lead by the document "LifeVac: A Novel Apparatus to Resuscitate a Choking Victim" which were evaluated by the Journal of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council (American Red Cross).

Defibrillation can also be needed, because an unconscious victim of choking can suffer a cardiac arrest at any moment, due to several possible causes.

[55] In unconscious choking victims, the American Medical Association has previously advocated sweeping the fingers across the back of the throat to attempt to dislodge airway obstructions.

Other protocols suggest that if the patient is conscious they will be able to remove the foreign object themselves, or if they are unconscious, the rescuer should place them in the recovery position to allow the drainage of fluids out of the mouth instead of down the trachea due to gravity.

In the chest thrusts manoeuver, the baby's body is placed lying face up on a surface (it can be the rescuer's thighs, lap or forearm).

[60] If choking is unresolved despite these rescue attempts, it is vital that somebody calls to the emergency medical services and continue first aid until they arrive.

The baby's head must be in a straight position, facing frontally, because tilting it too much backwards can close the access to the trachea in infants.

Until emergency services arrive, the American Heart Association[60] recommends starting (even[51][52] with no more delay) an anti-choking cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) adaptive to infants less than one year old (described below).

It is a cycle of resuscitation[61] that alternates compressions and rescue breaths, like in a normal CPR, but with some differences: The rescuer begins by making 30 compressions, pressing with only two fingers on the lower half of the bone that crosses the middle of the chest from the neck to the belly (on the chest bone, named sternum, on its part that is the nearest to the belly), at an approximate rhythm of nearly 2 per second.

And, being the object extracted or not in this step, this CPR procedure must pass to the next action and continue until the babies can breathe by themselves or emergency medical services arrive.

Preventively, if a person with abdominal problems (as injury, pregnancy, or too much obesity) is present, placing an anti-choking device nearby can be useful.

Finally, the rescuer would grasp the own hand with the other, place them between the chest and the belly button of the victim, and apply sudden pressures with them on that zone, in a direction of in-and-up.

They are applied while the victim is using the wheelchair too, but making sudden inward pressures on the lower half of the breast bone (sternum), which is placed vertically along the middle of the chest.

They are made by putting one hand on the top of the other and making with both of them strong pressures downwards on the lower half of the breast bone (the sternum), or in a downward-and-frontward direction between the chest and the belly button.

In some situations it is impossible to sit the victim up, and then the rescuer can try one of the thrusts techniques to the front of their abdomen and chest (even though this is less effective, it could be the only option and therefore worth a try).

Anyway, they can be made by putting one hand on the top of the other and using them to make strong pressures downwards on the lower half of the breast bone (the sternum), or downwards-and-frontwards on the abdomen (between the chest and the belly button).

This can include carrying an approved anti-choking device nearby (see above) or conducting first aid techniques on oneself, mainly by hand: The most widely recommended manoeuver consists of positioning ones own abdomen over the border of an object: usually a chairback, but it could work on an armchair, railing or countertop, and then driving the abdomen upon the border, making sharp thrusts in an inwards-an-upwards direction.

This is achieved by making a fist, grasping it with the other hand, and placing them on the area located between the chest and the belly button.

Other variation of this is the use of an appropriated object to press inwards in the same point, being equally convenient to receive the compressions when the chest is relaxed.Making attempts to cough, when it is possible, can also aid in clearing the airway.

To swallow correctly, it is recommended that the neck be in a normal position, with the head looking forward, and being sitting down or standing up (not lying down or too reclined).

It is convenient to place anti-choking devices in public sites, events, risk areas and homes, to solve the cases of swallowing that can happen there.

[71] Pediatricians and dentists can provide information on various age groups to parents and caregivers about which food and toys are appropriate to prevent choking.