You’re home alone and you start choking. Now what? This doctor’s advice could come in handy

‘This is a huge fear of mine.’

Imagine: you’re home alone chowing down on some food when suddenly, something gets stuck in your throat. No one else is there. It’s just you.

The food is uncomfortable at first. Then you start to cough, and it moves in just the right place to completely block your airway. That’s when you panic. What should you do?

Well, one man has the exact next steps you should take in the event of a choking emergency. In a video that received more than 599,000 views, Dr. Jeremy London, MD (@drjeremylondon), explained how he would respond to the situation. Here’s what he advised. 

What Should I Do If I’m Home Alone Choking?

The first thing Dr. London told his audience was to call an emergency line. “If you can’t speak, just leaving an open line will send help,” he said.

Second, he recommended simply coughing to adjust the position of the food that’s stuck. “If you can move any air, that’s the most force you can generate on your own,” he added.

Then, he recommended giving oneself an anti-choking maneuver using your fist or a hard surface.

“ You wanna take your fist, put it between your belly button and your ribcage, take the other hand on top of it and push in and up as hard as you can,” Dr. London said. “Now, in that moment, you just may not have enough strength in your arm, so you wanna get to the back of a chair, the edge of a counter, anything that you can place right in that same location and drop your weight into it multiple times over and over again to try to clear your airway.”

In Dr. London’s TikTok bio, he clarified that he does not offer his viewers direct medical advice. Leading experts would recommend seeking the advice of a primary care provider for specific medical questions.

‘It Happened So Fast, I Did Not Have Time To Call’

In the comments section, viewers said that choking can be genuinely terrifying, especially considering how fast it happens.

“It blew my mind at how fast something like this happened and the reality of not being able to take in air and still think rationally… still blows my mind,” one commenter said. “Afterwards, I got ready for work like nothing happened. I felt I deserved a medal.”

Another commenter said, “This actually happened to me. Recently too it was only like 2 months ago. I never thought to call 911 for an open line tho ill remember that next time. I tried giving myself the heimlich but it just didn’t work cuz i was panicking and couldn’t do it. Thankfully I was able to stick my fingers down my throat and grab the piece of steak.”

How Other Experts Handle Choking Incidents

Dr. London’s advice matches that of other medical experts. He even expands upon certain strategies for managing choking.

The American Heart Association (AHA), for instance, “recommends alternating five back blows followed by five abdominal thrusts for conscious children and adults, until the foreign object is expelled or the person becomes unresponsive.” But the AHA doesn’t have specific recommendations for a single, unaccompanied individual. Instead, it refers to a “rescuer” who would conduct the blows. 

Luckily, research shows that self-administered Heimlich manoeuvres are effective, according to the Imperial Medical blog. The blog also examined the method Dr. London recommended to get food out of one’s throat—using a chair or hard surface—and found that “The pressures generated by this means were significantly greater than … other [maneuvers].”

For those who are still concerned, viewers provided a recommendation: a LifeVac system.

“I bought a life vac because I always have that fear,” one viewer said. LifeVacs are an FDA-authorized anti-choking device. They work as a second-line treatment.

LifeVacs’ website directly states, “It does not replace calling 911 or performing standard choking rescue protocols and should only be used if standard choking protocol has failed.” But according to many of Dr. London’s viewers, it provides peace of mind. 

AllHipHop reached out to Dr. London via contact form for comment. This story will be updated if he responds.

@drjeremylondon You’re home alone and choking, what do you do? #lifehack #doctor #anxiety #choking #fypシ ♬ original sound – Dr. Jeremy London, MD

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