# RIP Henry Heimlich. Do you have a "someone saved from choking" story? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 18, 2016, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028 "2016-12-18T07:06:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/1 "2016-12-18T07:06:51Z")
Have you ever saved someone yourself, been saved by someone, or witnessed someone saved from choking because of Dr Heimlich’s technique? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/2 "2016-12-18T10:31:08Z")
Fun Fact: Back in May of this year, Dr. Heimlich used his own maneuver to [save a choking victim](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/27/dr-heimlich-performs-heimlich-manoeuvre-for-first-time-aged-96) at his retirement home. (He claimed it was the first time he’d used his own technique, but later investigations showed that wasn’t true.) ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/3 "2016-12-18T12:53:28Z")
Always hard to tell since it is over the phone, but I have been in the situation to give Heimlich instructions to 9-1-1 callers on a few occasions. Choking, CPR, and childbirth are the only topics we MUST give word-for-word instructions on. Otherwise we operate without a script. (YMMV) And of those, choking probably gives the most immediate concern since those patients are the most readily saved from imminent death with proper instructions. (In most CPR calls it is rare that the patient just collapsed. They are usually found unresponsive after an unknown amount of time has passed since collapse.) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/4 "2016-12-18T12:58:47Z")
Never gave it but twice stopped others from giving it when it wasn’t (yet) needed. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/5 "2016-12-18T15:46:24Z")
I’ve used it twice, successful both times. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/6 "2016-12-18T16:47:13Z")
I have a friend whose elderly dad called him one evening because his wife (friend’s mom) was choking (why he called him and not 911 is another matter). Anyway, he asked if he should give her the ‘Heinekin Maneuver’. mmm ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/7 "2016-12-18T17:15:17Z")
I used it on my dog - he had been chewing a rawhide or something and it got stuck. He was panicking and wouldn’t let me look in his mouth, so I gave it try. Worked perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/8 "2016-12-18T17:57:31Z")
My dad used it on my mum once; a guy in a restaurant used it on my sister-in-law; and I used it on the Cub when he was a mere seven months old. That seems like a high frequency of choking on food in my immediate family. We really should chew more … ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/9 "2016-12-18T18:15:58Z")
Have had to do it three times. Twice, in separate events in Chinese restaurants, both victims, it turned out, were choking on a long, stringy piece of meat. Everyone just stood or sat there, watching the guy turn blue. Within 30 seconds the offending food was dislodged, all was well, and I had my check picked up both times, by the grateful victims. The other time was at a dinner party at home, a guest accidentally swallowed an unchewed asparagus spear. People should really learn how to chew. 😉 It’s an amazing technique that almost anyone can do. It’s SO immediate, far less time than would be required to do an emergency cricothyrotomy or stanching someone’s bleeding. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/10 "2016-12-18T18:28:43Z")
I saved myself more than once, and was saved by a friend in a restaurant. The kitchen counter worked well when I was alone, and I remember having the presence of mind to grab my napkin as I stood up in the restaurant knowing I didn’t want the hamburger piece to fly across the room as it was propelled out. I was able to catch it in the napkin, and I don’t think anyone in the restaurant even knew what was happening. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/11 "2016-12-18T18:32:15Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > emergency cricothyrotomy I feel obligated to announce that **quiltguy** ’s post is an historical event: He is the only person in the entire history of the Dope to use the word “cricothyrotomy.” 🙂 (now, me…I guessed the meaning from the context…But , geez…I wish I hadn’t googled it. I’m squeamish. Yes, really,… I squeam a lot.) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/12 "2016-12-18T18:43:57Z")
I’ve seen it done once, ironically, at an American Red Cross dinner. My mother did it on herself once, threw herself against the back of a sturdy arm chair. She was alone, told us later. I’m soooo careful when chewing and swallowing. I think I must have choked to death in a previous life. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/13 "2016-12-18T18:59:15Z")
We’ve used it on my son 2 times. He’s autistic, and he really, really needs to be more careful about what he is eating. He would run into trouble at restaurants where he wouldn’t cut his food small enough, and “bam” choking. We’ve gotten very strict about how the food is cut. We constantly watch how he’s eating. The big issues now are “not talking while eating” and “finishing each bite before the next one”. The ironic thing is that I am the one with all of the first aid training, but when it came time to do the Heimlich I had trouble. He was fairly small at the time, so you need to make adjustments for where to grab him. Also, and pay attention everyone, you have to use a LOT more force than you might think. Don’t mess around. Hard as you can the first time, and it might take more than one try. Thank you Dr. Heimlich. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/14 "2016-12-18T20:25:22Z")
I had it used on me once. I have saved many people from choking, three times using the Heimlich maneuver. I have saved two choking infants using a similar technique. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/15 "2016-12-18T20:32:02Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > far less time than would be required to do an emergency cricothyrotomy Didn’t Father Mulchahey do one of those with a boy scout pocket knife and a bic in the back of a jeep? It can’t be that hard. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/16 "2016-12-18T20:55:27Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > stanching someone’s bleeding. My father just used “stanch” last night and now this. I appreciate it since I need to see things a few times before they sink in – I would have said “staunch” and been :o ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/17 "2016-12-18T20:59:56Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Didn’t Father Mulchahey do one of those with a boy scout pocket knife and a bic in the back of a jeep? It can’t be that hard. 😉 Yeah, that’s basic meatball surgery. Lucky he was there. Radar wouldn’t have been much help, as I recall. mmm ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/18 "2016-12-18T21:01:08Z")
Yep. I grabbed a guy and he launched a full piece of pastrami at the wall. Also, once I choked on something in the lower Grand Canyon. This was two full days of hiking from the nearest car. My buddy saved my life. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/19 "2016-12-18T21:02:26Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Didn’t Father Mulchahey do one of those with a boy scout pocket knife and a bic in the back of a jeep? It can’t be that hard. 😉 Oh yeah? And where do you find a jeep of that vintage in an emergency? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2016, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028/20 "2016-12-19T03:42:45Z")
I was in fifth grade, on a school field trip from Indianapolis to Washington, D.C. I was in a hotel room with two other boys and a chaperone. _Basic Instinct_ came on the television, and when I saw a naked rear end, I started choking on my Mr. Goodbar. The chaperone used the Heimlich on me. Then they turned the TV into the corner and watched the rest of the movie, forbidding me to see it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-henry-heimlich-do-you-have-a-someone-saved-from-choking-story/775028.md?page=2)