Elderly people should not eat more sticky foods

Yesterday at around 7 o'clock in the morning, the old man had glutinous rice cakes for breakfast. As he was eating, his neck suddenly moved, his breathing became rapid, and then his face turned white and purple. Seeing this, the wife on the side quickly patted his back, and then put her fingers into the old man's mouth to pick at him, but to no avail, the old man was already unconscious.

When the 120 doctor arrived at the scene, the old man was leaning back on the chair with his mouth open. After the doctor checked, his heartbeat and breathing had stopped.

Hospital Director of the Department of Otolaryngology Zeng Li reminds everyone that the elderly must eat slowly and not too fast. They should be careful when eating larger and sticky foods, such as glutinous rice balls, glutinous rice cakes, etc., especially elderly people who wear dentures. When eating these sticky foods, the dentures can easily be swallowed and become foreign bodies in the esophagus. Some elderly people with limited mobility should never eat while lying in bed.

If you suddenly choke while eating, Director Zeng also asked everyone to remember a few first aid measures. If you are choking, try to use something to press slightly below the diaphragm. For example, place your abdomen close to the edge of a table or the back of a chair, or even use your fists to dislodge the blockage.

If someone is choking, if the other person can still speak, it means that air can pass through the throat, and it is possible to spit out the obstruction by yourself; if he cannot speak, you can use your palm to hit his shoulder blades four times. Do not remove the blockage by hand or force it down with water.

If that still doesn’t work, quickly use the Hamlich maneuver, or abdominal thrust therapy. This method is also applicable to asthma attacks, accidental swallowing of foreign bodies, etc.

Method 1: The rescuer stands behind the patient, wraps his arms around the patient's waist and abdomen, makes a fist with one hand, puts the thumb side on the midpoint between the heart and the navel, overlaps the fisted hand with the other hand, and violently squeezes the upper abdomen upward and inward. Squeeze quickly and forcefully, then relax and repeat until the foreign body is expelled.

Method 2: The patient bends his knees and curls up, facing the rescuer. The rescuer puts his knees and thighs against the patient's chest, and uses the heel of his palm to tap the spine in the scapula area four times continuously to expel the foreign body.