July 7, 1999

Everyday choking hazards. Do you know how to identify them, or what to do with your child if it happens?

We have some safety tips in today's Family Now report.

As children begin to eat table food, parents often worry that their curious kid will put something in their mouth they shouldn't.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says all children under four years of age should not eat any round, firm food, unless it is completely chopped up.

Those foods include:

• hot dogs
• Nuts
• Chunks of meat or cheese
• Whole grapes
• Hard or sticky candy

But despite precautions, kids can choke. And parents, who might be inclined to panic, should be prepared.

Salt Lake County paramedics who demonstrated the Heimlich maneuver say the well-known technique can be performed on children older than 12 months.

First, parents need to establish if the child is breathing.

If not, and if the child is conscious, they can perform the regular Heimlich maneuver.

If the choking child is unconscious, a series of five abdominal thrusts should dislodge any foreign material.

Craig Outzen, a Salt Lake County firefighter-paramedic, says, "The hand position is going to be just above the umbilicus, or belly button. So finger in the belly button, with the heel of your hands and do abdominal thrusts."

It's critical to perform the correct Heimlich maneuver for a baby since its internal organs can be damaged easily.

If parents determine the infant is not breathing, they should brace the choking child on their arm, and start with five back blows.

Joe Wilcken, another Salt Lake County paramedic explains, "Go right in the middle of the shoulder blades and use the flat part of your hand - - and give five blows like that. And then to switch it, you just kind of form a sandwich, rotate the baby over, find the nipple line, go in the middle there and give five there as well."

The combination of the two movements should remove dislodge the item.