View Full Version : Me, the dummy and the heimlich manouvre..


msbehavin
11-03-2005, 10:21
Yesterday at work we had an interesting and entertaining session of instruction on CPR/resucitation.

The guy brought three dummies with him and unloaded them from his suitcase like a nightmarish version of Keith thingy and Orville. They were a baby, a boy and an adult. They looked quite cute dressed in their tracksuits and various tops. The baby had a dinky pair of pinky striped towelling pants on and was unbelievably cute. ( Broke my heart it did when I walked into the training room and saw the little mite laid out on the carpet).

At the end of the session the guy asks if we want a quick demo of the Heimlich manoeuvre in case any one chokes in our company. As I occasionally inflict my cooking on unsuspecting friends and family I reasoned that this may, in fact , be quite a good idea. After watching him demonstrate on the boy dummy I had a go myself.

Now this boy was stiff and awkward and not floppy like a proper person would be. He resisted all my attempts to lift his arms up so I could get my arms around his waist from behind, the stroppy lad. Eventually after much huffing and puffing I managed to get into the right position, got my hands into a fist and .... THRUST!

Nothing. Not a whisper. The little beggar stayed all stiff and unresistant. His chest never moved. I was obviously doing something wrong. These dummies have springs in them so you can actually move the chest if you get the right area. I repositioned my hands, took a deep breath and repeated the same. All that happened this time was that I got a great cut on my thumb from the sharp plastic edges of his chest. Bleeding and defeated I went back to my seat and left my colleagues to his attempted resucitation.

So - does anyone know what I was doing wrong? Do I need to get myself a Dummy Boy to practice dislodging food on? Can I frighten my kids to death and practice on them after force feeding them peanuts then turning them upside down???

I contented myself with a 5 minute cuddle with the baby before it had to go back into its suitcase and wondered if I might be a candidate for one of those lifelike babies that they loan out for the weekend to teenagers...

:rolleyes:

Phanerothyme
11-03-2005, 10:24
http://www.heimlichinstitute.org/howtodo.html makes repeated references to not squeezing the ribcage.

nick2
11-03-2005, 10:26
Originally posted by msbehavin
I contented myself with a 5 minute cuddle with the baby before it had to go back into its suitcase

that is disturbing in so may ways. :)

msbehavin
11-03-2005, 10:30
so I like babies! (think I should get one of those real'life thingys???)

JoeP
11-03-2005, 10:32
Your hands go under the rib-cage - just below the solar plexus so you're pulling upwards. I've done this once in anger the recipient of my ministrations did survive.

Many years ago I gave CPR to someone and broke a rib. Fortunately they didn't sue.

:)

nick2
11-03-2005, 10:33
Originally posted by msbehavin
so I like babies!

LOL - it's just the way it sounds, you can imagine it being read out in court and the jury being horrified.

msbehavin
11-03-2005, 10:35
court?? LOL - is cuddling a dummy baby in the privacy of one's work environment an offence now??? Tee hee - I do admit to being very broody some days. No baby who is brought into the surgery where I work is safe from ME!

tiffy
11-03-2005, 10:39
Reminds me of when my son went on a health and safety course a couple of years ago - you always get comedians on such courses but to be given a dummy that makes embarrassing noises when subjected to mouth-to-mouth really delayed proceedings.

Martin_s
11-03-2005, 10:58
If it's any consolation I did an oxygen administration course as part of my diving qualifications and CPR is part of the syllabus.

The look of horror on the rest of the group when I gave the resusi-annie doll a proper pump was priceless.. I'd have broken more than just one rib but apparently that's an indicator that you're doing it right..

I'm reliably informed by the instructor that he'd want me to do his resus' if he collapsed with a heart attack, but the others are not so sure and they're scared out of their witts whenever we do simulations on shore after a rescue procedure.. :gag: :D

msbehavin
11-03-2005, 10:59
we were reliably informed that being alive with a couple of broken ribs was a far better option than taking a trolley ride to the mortuary.:cry:

msbehavin
12-03-2005, 17:12
anyone got any advice on Heimlich? Anyone had to actually DO a resucitation on someone???

(Not even gonna mention mouth-to-mouth....:rolleyes: )

JoeP
12-03-2005, 17:53
See above.... :)

Only thing I can say about the Heimlich Manoeuvre is that you need to pull up and in from under the ribs. The idea is to compress the chest space by pulling the diaphragm upwards.

So if you squeeze the ribs you're not doing anything useful at all.

If you choke whilst at a meet...just gasp and I'll demonstrate it....:)

Joe

msbehavin
12-03-2005, 21:08
aww thanks Joe - ever helpful lol

I owe you a pint by the way!!!:thumbsup:

FairyNormal
12-03-2005, 21:13
Ooh I'm doing this mext week. It will be the final week of my first aid course and we will be doing choking and CPR.

I can hardly wait!!

We spent yesterday afternoon bandaging each other up and rolling each other around on the floor. Oh what fun!!

msbehavin
12-03-2005, 21:55
advice - watch the boy dummy he's an evil little b*ggar!:suspect: