3-12. ADMINISTERING ABDOMINAL THRUSTS TO A CONSCIOUS PERSON
NOTE:
This procedure can be performed on a person who is standing or sitting.
CAUTION:
If the person has significant abdominal injuries, is noticeably pregnant,
or has a waist that is too large to encircle, administer chest thrusts
instead of abdominal thrusts.
a. Stand behind the person, insert your arms under his arms, and wrap your
arms around his waist.
b. Make a fist with one hand and place the thumb side of your fist on the midline
of the person's abdomen slightly above his navel (belt buckle) and well below the
bottom tip of his breastbone (xyphoid process).
c. Grasp your fist with your other hand.
d. Press your fists into the person's abdomen using a quick inward and upward
motion (figure 3-13), then relax the hold.
e. Continue administering abdominal thrusts at a rate of one thrust every 4 or 5
seconds until the obstruction is expelled or the person becomes unconscious. Each
thrust should be a separate and distinct movement delivered with the intent of
dislodging and expelling the object causing the blockage.
f. If the person loses consciousness before the object is expelled, call for help
again, move backward, and lower the person onto the ground so that he is in a supine
(on his back) position.
Figure 3-13. Administering an abdominal thrust to a standing person.
MD0877
3-15
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