# Choking

> Ask loudly: are you choking? If they cannot answer, give five hard back blows between the shoulder blades now.

A person with a fully blocked airway has three to four minutes before the brain starts running out of oxygen. They will not call for help, because they cannot make a sound. Grabbing the throat with both hands is the universal sign.

## Стъпка по стъпка
1. Ask: are you choking? If they can speak or cough loudly, do nothing except encourage the coughing. A working cough beats anything you can do.
2. If the cough is silent or they cannot breathe, stand to the side and slightly behind, support their chest with one hand and lean them forward.
3. Give up to five sharp blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. Check after each one whether the object is out.
4. If that fails, stand behind them, put your fist just above the navel, grip it with the other hand, and pull sharply inwards and upwards. Up to five times.
5. Keep alternating five back blows with five abdominal thrusts until the object comes out.
6. If the person goes limp, lower them to the ground, call 112, and start CPR at once. Compressions also push air against the object.
7. After any abdominal thrusts, the person must be checked by a doctor, even if they feel fine.

## Никога не правете това
- Do not sweep the mouth blindly with a finger. It pushes the object deeper. Remove only what you can clearly see and grip.
- Do not use abdominal thrusts on a pregnant woman or a baby. Use chest thrusts for a pregnant woman, and back blows with chest thrusts for a baby.
- Do not leave a choking person alone, not even to get help.

## Обадете се на спешния номер, ако
- The airway is fully blocked, or the person keeps choking after the first back blows.
- The person became unresponsive at any point, even briefly.
- Any choking that needed abdominal thrusts, once the object is out.

## Спешни номера
112 - Единен европейски номер за спешни повиквания

## Чести въпроси
### What about a baby under one year?
Lay the baby face down along your forearm with the head low, give five back blows between the shoulder blades, then turn them over and give five chest compressions with two fingers. Never abdominal thrusts on a baby.

### I am choking and completely alone. What can I do?
Call 112 even if you cannot speak, and leave the line open. Push your own abdomen sharply against a chair back or table edge, just above the navel. Repeat hard until the object moves.

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Source: https://emergency-cards.com/bg/zadavyane/
Reviewed: 2026-07-26