If you are in the correct position, you will have a
natural midabdominal position and are unlikely to
direct the thrust to the right or left. A rescuer too short
to reach around the waist of an unconscious victim can
use this technique. The rescuer can use their body
weight to perform the maneuver.
C H E S T
T H R U S T S
W I T H
V I C T I M
STANDING OR SITTING.—This technique is used
only in the late stages of pregnancy or in the markedly
obese victim. To perform chest thrusts with victim
standing or sitting, proceed as follows:
Step 1—Stand behind the victim, with your arms
directly under the victim’s armpits, and encircle the
victim’s chest.
Step 2—Place the thumb side of your fist on the
middle of the victim’s sternum (breastbone), taking
care to avoid the xiphoid process and the margins of the
rib cage.
Step 3—Grab your fist with the other hand and
perform backward thrust until the foreign body is
expelled or the victim becomes unconscious.
See
figure 4-7.
CHEST THRUSTS WITH VICTIM LYING
DOWN.—Chest thrusts should be used only for victims
in the late stages of pregnancy and when the Heimlich
maneuver cannot be applied effectively to the
unconscious, markedly obese victim. To perform chest
thrusts with victim lying down, proceed as follows:
Step 1¾Place the victim on his back and kneel
close to the victim’s side.
Step 2––Place the heel of your hand on the lower
portion of the sternum (in the same manner as you
would when performing chest compressions).
Step 3––Deliver each thrust firmly and distinctly,
with the intent of relieving the obstruction.
M A N U A L R E M O VA L O F F O R E I G N
BODY.—A foreign body can be removed by
performing a “finger sweep.”
This procedure,
however, must be performed on unconscious
victims only (though not on seizure victims).
To
perform a finger sweep, proceed as follows:
Step 1––With the victim’s face up, open the
victim’s mouth by grasping both the tongue and lower
jaw between the thumb and fingers and lifting the jaw.
This action draws the tongue away from the back of the
throat and away from a foreign body that may be
lodged there. This step alone may partially relieve the
obstruction.
Step 2––Insert the index finger of the other hand
down along the inside of the cheek and deeply into the
throat to the base of the tongue.
Step 3––Use a hooking action to dislodge the
foreign body and maneuver it into the mouth so that it
can be removed. See figure 4-8.
4-15
Figure 4-7.—Administering the chest thrust to a conscious
victim who is standing.
Figure 4-8.—Finger sweep.
