If a 2 year old goes under water and swallows, do I do the Heimlich Maneuver or Beat her back hard?

Question

I had the scariest moment of my ENTIRE LIFE..my 2 year old daughter had her arm floaties on plus a round innertube for her size around her body, well one of her floaties had flattened so I got her out of the pool to blow it up by mouth, well she jumped in the pool but she still had the innertube around her waist, well apparently that wasn't enough, she somehow went under water and I could tell trouble, I IMMEDIATELY jumped and hurried and grabbed her out before she swallowed water...THANKFULLY she was fine, anyway in the case she did swallow water, what was I suppose to do?

Answer 1

beat her back hard

Answer 2

The Heimlich is used when an object is stuck in an airway, not for swallowing water or drowning victims. I wouldn't beat her hard back, either. If she swallowed water some may have gotten down the wrong pipe which is causing choking or gagging. She'll be o.k. Always try to remain calm, however. If you panic, she'll panic and make things worse.  I'd check a first aid reference as I don't know if holding her upside down for a bit would help drain any water out of her.

Answer 3

most kids will just naturally cough to get rid of something in their throat. if she ends up not coughing and chokes then you may need to use the Heimlich Maneuver or CPR. however, most kids will just cough until they clear their throat. a little bit of pool water might shake the kid up but i doubt they'd be seriously hurt.

Answer 4

if she is choking (or not able to) then simply tap her back (getting harder if not doing trick). heimlich (however you spell it) shouldnt be done on kids. you should lie them on their back and push your thumb into the area on their chest that you would do chest compressions on an adult... but ONLY do this if its an absolute emergency..

so bottom line, hit back

Answer 5

it's just water, im sure she drinks water all the time. If she becomes unconcious then you would give her CPR. beating her back hard will just hurt her and can possibly damage her spine or bruise it.

Answer 6

lol the Heimlich manuever is for stopping someone from choking on food.

Answer 7

Just let it pass through her or let her throw it up on her own.

The heimlich maneuver is designed to dislodge food in the trachea, and trying to beat it out of her would do more harm than good.

Answer 8

God no! You'll kill her if you do that. She's not going to die from swallowing water. Calm down. She'll be fine.

Answer 9

You would need to take her to the hospital, and depending on how serious you may have need to call 911. If she is coughing then encourage her to keep coughing. If she was unconscious and not breathing then you would just give rescue breathing, if she was not breathing and had no pulse then you would give her CPR. If she were to get water in her lungs back blows aren't going to do anything. The back blows/Heimlich are used for choking (usually on food or a foreign object blocking the airway), when a person is not breathing but still conscious. Water isn't going to block the airway so treating it as choking isn't the proper first aid. If she simply just swallowed water then it isn't a big deal, it only becomes an issue if water gets in her lungs.