In a social experiment carried out in a shopping center in Kastamonu in order to spread first aid awareness, a citizen who had food stuck in his throat was intervened with the “Heimlich” maneuver. The experiment first scared the citizens and then received great applause.
Within the framework of World First Aid Day, Kastamonu Provincial Health Directorate conducted a social experiment in a shopping center in the city center in order to spread first aid awareness. According to the scenario, a citizen who ate potato chips in the shopping center became ill as a result of food stuck in his trachea. Meanwhile, the Heimlich maneuver was applied to the person who had food stuck in his throat by the citizens in the shopping center. After the incident where citizens panicked, it was announced that it was a social experiment. Emergency medical technicians from Kastamonu Provincial Health Directorate Emergency Health Services Department, who were kept ready in the shopping center, pointed out the importance of first aid after the social experiment and provided first aid training to the citizens.
“Heimlich maneuver is a simple maneuver but it saves lives”
Ahmet Kara, who works as a firefighter in Inebolu district, stated that he immediately intervened when he saw the situation and said, “The friend suddenly couldn't breathe, he had food in his throat. In fact, it was all a trick, but I intervened because I knew the necessary first aid. Another gentleman came to me, he also intervened and helped me. Thanks to him, he is also a conscious citizen.”
Stating that he was very angry at first when they told him it was a social experiment, Kara said, “It is actually a good event, everyone should be conscious about these issues. Young children can choke on food, we see this very often on TV and in schools. It can happen to us even when we are sitting on the street or in a cafe. That's why everyone needs to know this first aid. Heimlich maneuver is a simple maneuver but it saves lives, you save a person's life with a simple first aid.”
“I received first aid training in the training organized for teachers”
Uğur Doğan, who ran to the aid of the citizen who had food stuck in his throat, said, “I had just come back with my food, my wife called out ‘the child is choking’. I couldn't see because I was behind the pillar, so I ran to intervene. At that time, a friend started to intervene, so I checked his friend. I didn't intervene at first, then I thought he didn't come out. It was a mise-en-scene anyway, it turned out later.”
“I am also thinking of taking first aid training”
Mustafa Özkan Çakıroğlu, who watched the social experiment in the shopping center with his friend between anxious looks, said, “We were eating. A man started shouting. We pretended to drown, it was really realistic. We got up and were immediately looking for an ambulance, then they said it was a social experiment. All the people here are sensitive to such issues. I know very little about first aid, our people are charitable, they help immediately. If we get training, we can actually make everyone more aware, this is very good, I am also thinking of getting this training.”
“Heimlich maneuver should not be performed on infants and pregnant women”
Noting that the purpose of the social experiment is to raise awareness, Prof. Dr. Fatma Mutlu Kukul Güven, Kastamonu Training and Research Hospital Emergency Service Training Responsible and Kastamonu University Faculty of Medicine, Head of the Department of Emergency, said, “If the person coughs when a foreign body enters the airway, we need to wait for him to cough and continue coughing. With the air pressure that builds up in the chest with coughing, the foreign body can be expelled. But if he/she can no longer cough, speak and breathe, if he/she gives the sign of suffocation by holding his/her throat with both hands, if he/she is conscious at that time, we immediately go to the back of the patient, lean his/her torso forward a little, support his/her torso with one hand, and with the other hand, we hit the ball of our hand between both shoulder blades five times. If the foreign body does not come out after these five taps, we have a second maneuver, which is the Heimlich maneuver. For the Heimlich maneuver, we go behind the patient again. We lean forward a little bit and make a fist with our other hand a little bit above the navel and make five times pressure inward and upward by wrapping it with the hand we made a fist with. We do this until the foreign body comes out, but if our patient has a change of consciousness, if he/she has completely left himself/herself to you, then we need to switch to advanced basic life support. If there is no one with you, you can do this application on your own using a chair.”
“As the number of first assistants increases, the number of lives saved in social areas will increase even more”
Kastamonu Provincial Health Director Uzm. Dr. Çağdaş Derdiyok said, “In our country, especially in social areas, we encounter many cases of foreign objects entering the esophagus. The importance of first aid in intervention in these cases emerges. In first aid intervention, especially the Heimlich maneuver comes to the fore a little more. As a country, there has been a social sensitivity towards the Heimlich maneuver. As a nation, the feeling of helping is very dominant in us, so it needs to be shaped a little bit. As Kastamonu Provincial Directorate of Health, we wanted to raise awareness on the occasion of World First Aid Day. We wanted to do this with a social experiment. We created a social experiment by creating a scenario in which an object got stuck in the throat of our staff while they were eating at a shopping mall. We were very surprised because two of our citizens immediately got up from their seats and wanted to intervene, they did the Heimlich maneuver. They even intervened very consciously and correctly. We were also happy to learn that both of our citizens received first aid training. Because when the number of first aiders increases, the number of lives saved in social areas will increase even more. In general, the social experiment was very productive and beautiful. Our people became more aware and the importance of first aid was emphasized. We are also happy for the awareness that has been created, and our first aid trainings will continue to increase from now on.”
İHA Haber Kodu: 20240915AW287972