Instructor Preparation - Online Blended Part 1
Course Content
- Instructor preparation and update course introduction
- FAW Blended Part One Introduction and Regulations
- The Human Body
- First Aid the Initial Steps
- Asking permission and consent to help
- Calling the Emergency Services
- What3Words - location app
- Waiting for the E.M.S to arrive
- Scene Safety
- Chain of Survival
- DRcABCDE approach
- Using gloves
- How to use face shields
- Hand Washing
- Waterless hand gels
- Initial Assessment and Recovery Position
- BSi First Aid Kit
- Cardiac Arrest and Heart Conditions
- Adult CPR Introduction
- RCUK & ERC Resus Guidelines
- Heart Attack
- Heart Attack Position
- Aspirin and the Aspod
- Respiration and Breathing
- Pulse Points
- When to call for assistance
- Three Steps to Save a Life (2025)
- Adult CPR
- Effective CPR
- Improving breaths
- Improving compressions
- Compressions Only CPR
- CPR Hand Over
- Seizures and Cardiac Arrest
- Drowning
- AED Introduction
- Using an AED - brief overview and demonstration
- Choking Management
- Bleeding Control
- Catastrophic Bleeding
- Why is this Training Now Required?
- Prioritising first aid
- Bleeding assessment
- Blood Loss - A Practical Demonstration
- Hemostatic Dressing or Tourniquet?
- Tourniquets and Where to Use Them
- Types of Tourniquets
- Improvised Tourniquets
- When Tourniquets Don't Work - Applying a Second
- Hemostatic Dressings
- Packing a Wound with Celox Z Fold Hemostatic Dressing
- The Woundclot range
- How Does Woundclot Work
- Woundclot features
- Woundclot and direct pressure
- Packing a wound with Woundclot
- Woundclot and knife injuries
- Woundclot and large areas
- Shock and Spinal Injury
- Injuries
- Secondary Care Introduction
- Injury Assessment
- Strains and Sprains and the RICE procedure
- Adult fractures
- Splints
- Dislocated Shoulders and Joints
- Types of head injury and consciousness
- Eye Injuries
- Foreign object in the eye
- Burns and burn kits
- Treating a burn
- Blister Care
- Electrical Injuries
- Abdominal Injuries
- Chest Injuries
- Heat emergencies
- Cold emergencies
- Dental Injuries
- Bites and stings
- Treating Snake Bites
- Splinters
- Illness
- Introduction to Paediatric and Adult First Aid
- Paediatric CPR and Choking
- Specific Paediatric Conditions
- How to use an AED
- Extra Subjects to allow you to teach specialist courses
- Teaching Equipment
- Summary
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Infant Choking
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When an infant is choking, it's an extremely distressing situation for everyone involved. Parents, carers, bystanders and even experienced medical staff can find infant choking particularly frightening. Infants deteriorate very quickly, their oxygen levels fall rapidly, their skin can turn blue or grey and they can become critically unwell in a short time. The first and most important thing to remember is this. You must remain as calm as possible. Panic makes it harder to act effectively. Staying calm allows you to follow the correct steps and give the infant the best possible chance of recovery. Infants are anatomically different from adults. Their tongue is relatively larger, their airway is smaller and more flexible and their internal organs are more vulnerable. For this reason, abdominal thrusts are never used on infants as they can cause serious internal injury. Instead, we use back blows and chest thrusts, which are just as effective as clearing the airway without causing harm. If an infant has a mild obstruction, some air is still getting through. They may be coughing, spluttering or making noise. In this case, encourage coughing and monitor closely. If the infant has a severe obstruction, there will be no effective breathing, no crying and no coughing. The infant will be very distressed and may become rapidly cyanosed. This is when we must act immediately. One of the advantages of infants is that we can use posture and gravity to help clear the airway. Support the infant face down with their body along your forearm or thigh, keeping the head lower than the chest. Secure the infant by positioning their legs either side of your arm or thigh with their body supported against you. Use your thumbs at the corners of their mouth to gently open the mouth. This helps keep the airway open and allows saliva or mucus to drain out naturally. Liquids and secretions are far more common causes of airway obstructions in infants than solid food. With the infant face down and well supported, give up to five firm back blows between the shoulder blades using the heel of your hand. After each blow, briefly check to see if the obstruction has been cleared. If mucus or fluid enters the mouth, wipe it away with a cloth or a tissue or anything suitable. Do not perform blind finger sweeps. If the obstruction does not clear, carefully turn the infant onto their back, keeping the head lower than the body. Place the head in a neutral position. Avoid overextending or flexing the neck as the infant's airway is easily obstructed. Place your thumbs on top of each other on the center of the breastbone in the line between the nipples and provide up to five chest thrusts, pressing inward and slightly upwards towards the head. This results in a sharp increase in intraplural pressure, thereby expelling the obstruction from the airway. If you can see an object in their mouth, remove it carefully. Never perform blind finger sweeps. If the airway is still blocked, return the infant to the face down position, give five back blows, turn them onto their back and give five chest thrusts using your thumbs. Continue this cycle until the obstruction clears, the infant starts breathing or crying, which is a good sign in this instance, or emergency help arrives to tell you to stop. Call the emergency services as soon as possible and put your phone on speaker phone. Alternatively, ask someone else to make the call. If the infant becomes unresponsive, open the airway and check for breathing. If they're not breathing normally, begin infant CPR immediately and continue until help arrives.
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Choking in children
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Paediatric triage - behaviour breathing and body colour BBB
How to Respond When an Infant is Choking
Choking is a critical emergency, especially in infants, requiring swift and effective intervention to prevent severe outcomes.
Understanding Choking in Infants
Infants are more prone to choking on food or small objects. Quick action is essential in these situations to ensure their safety.
Mild vs. Severe Choking
- Mild Obstruction: Some air passage remains, and the infant can cough.
- Severe Obstruction: Airway is completely blocked, preventing breathing, crying, or coughing.
Immediate Actions for Severe Choking
Follow these steps carefully to assist a choking infant:
Step 1: Back Blows
- Lay the infant face down along your thigh while sitting.
- Support their head with one hand.
- With the heel of your other hand, give up to five firm back-blows between the shoulder blades.
- Check between blows for any dislodged obstruction.
Step 2: Checking the Mouth
Turn the infant over and lay them on your leg face-up to inspect their mouth:
- Remove visible obstructions carefully.
- Avoid blind finger sweeps.
Step 3: Chest Thrusts
- While the infant is still lying face-up on your leg, locate the breastbone.
- Perform up to five chest thrusts using two thumbs with your hands around the chest, pressing inwards and downwards.
- Repeat back blows and chest thrusts if the obstruction remains.
If the Infant Becomes Unconscious
- Immediately check for breathing and prepare to start CPR if there is no breath.
- Call Emergency Services or have someone call them if not done already.
Conclusion
Being prepared to act in a choking emergency can save an infant's life. Practice and familiarity with these procedures can make a critical difference.
