What happens when you drink something and it goes down the wrong way?!
Question:
What happens when you drink something and it goes down the wrong way?
You know how you drink and sometimes it goes down the wrong pipe....does anything actually happen?
Answers:
Most of the times when someone aspirates something into their trachea (windpipe) it is a small amount and the body will take care of it by itself. There are other times when the amount is too much and it can cause aspiration pneumonia or even cause the person to choke to death. If someone is choking on solids or liquids the best thing to do is the Heimlich maneuver. It is a simple procedure where you go behind the person and place your hands in a fist, one fisted up and wrapped around the other fist. Press hard in the area of their diaphragm just below the long bone separating the rib cage. Press hard several times. The person will cough up the material and praise you for saving their lives. I had to do this in a restaurant to a woman who was choking on some tea. Everyone just sat around staring at her. She was so grateful.