Here's What to Do If You Choke While Eating Alone (Video)

Choking while eating is a common cause of unprecedented death, and it is most dangerous when the victim is alone. Here's what to do when you are in such a situation.

Choking is a rather rampant form of danger, and while many may be lucky enough to be in a public place at the time it occurs, some aren't. For people who often eat alone, choking must never happen because if it does, it could be life-threatening.

Thankfully there are people like Jeff Rehman who are happy to share life-saving techniques like how to get food stuck in the airways out when you are alone and choking.

Jeff Rehman is particularly skilled when it comes to safety techniques because he is a firefighter, he has also been a paramedic and a BLS (Basic Life Support) and ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) instructor for more than 20 years. It is no wonder that his video of how to save yourself when alone and choking is rather popular.

The YouTube video runs for almost two minutes, enough time for Rehman to carry out the technique. Rehman says in the video:

“I have noted over those years that there are no effective means for someone to rescue themselves should they be choking and nobody is there to help them.”

He then went on to disclose that he learned the technique as far back as the eighties during his boxing days. Rehman said:

“It was actually something my coach taught me in order to toughen up my abdominal muscles. I figured there’s a better use for it, so I applied it to my years as a paramedic.”

In the video, he demonstrates that any person choking should get down into a basic pushup position – kneeling and resting on fisted hands. In this position, Redman suddenly removes his hands from beneath him, letting his chest fall, so there is enough suction to dislodge any obstructive object in the throat hopefully.

The sharp fall elicits a sound from Rehman showing that the air that is moving out from this technique is quite much and should be enough to remove the item blocking the airways.

Rehman concluded his demonstration by saying that this technique will not work for a pregnant woman and also noted that while nothing is 100 percent effective, “this is certainly a lot better than what we’ve been taught so far.”

So far, the video has amassed well over eight million views since it was first published years ago. As they say, no knowledge, especially when it is a life-saving technique like Rehman’s, is lost. Read this Mayo Clinic article to find out what to do if you or someone else is having a heart attack.