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First aid · Australia

Adult choking

Encourage effective coughing. If the obstruction is severe, call 000 and give up to five back blows followed by up to five chest thrusts, repeating as instructed.

Medical emergency? Call 000

What to do

  1. Strong cough: encourage coughing

    If the person can cough strongly, encourage coughing and watch closely.

    Take care. Do not slap the back of someone who is coughing effectively.

  2. Ineffective cough: call 000

    If they cannot cough effectively, breathe or speak, call 000 on speaker.

    Take care. Do not give food or drink.

  3. Give up to 5 back blows

    Lean them forward. Use the heel of your hand to give up to 5 sharp blows between the shoulder blades. Check after every blow; stop once the blockage clears.

  4. Then up to 5 chest thrusts

    If still blocked, support their back and give up to 5 sharp chest thrusts with the heel of your other hand on the lower half of the breastbone. Check after each thrust.

    Should I use the Heimlich manoeuvre?

    No. Australian guidance uses back blows and chest thrusts, rather than abdominal thrusts.

  5. Alternate while still blocked

    Alternate up to 5 back blows and up to 5 chest thrusts until clear or the person becomes unresponsive.

  6. If unresponsive: start CPR

    If unresponsive and not breathing normally, lower them safely and start CPR with compressions. Follow 000. Remove an object only if visible; never sweep blindly.

    Take care. Do not perform blind finger sweeps.

Know when to act

When to get help

  • Severe choking, blue lips, collapse or inability to breathe or speak requires 000.

Children and babies

  • For a child over 1 year, use the age-appropriate back-blow and chest-thrust instructions from the 000 call-taker.
  • For a baby under 1 year, the technique and position are different: call 000 immediately, support the head and follow the infant instructions.
  • Never pick up a choking baby or child and turn them upside down. Do not use abdominal thrusts on a baby.

Keep checking

  • Stay with the person and be ready to start CPR if they become unresponsive.

What you may notice

  • The person cannot breathe, speak or cough effectively, or may clutch their throat or look panicked.
  • Breathing may be noisy, laboured or absent; the person may become blue, limp or unresponsive as the obstruction worsens.
  • An effective cough is different from severe choking: a person who can cough and breathe should be encouraged to keep coughing while being watched closely.
  • The person may be an older child as well as an adult; use the over-one-year pathway unless the person is an infant.

When help arrives

  • If the person becomes unresponsive, start CPR immediately, beginning with compressions, and follow the 000 call-taker.
  • Even when the object clears, seek medical advice for a cough or wheeze that does not settle, coughing blood, fever or difficulty breathing.
  • Tell responders what the person was choking on, how many back blows or chest thrusts were given, whether the object came out and whether symptoms remain.

Other useful answers

Do they need a check after choking?

Seek medical advice for persistent cough or wheeze, coughing blood, fever or breathing trouble.

Sources and last update

Content updated: 6 September 2026.

These sources inform the guidance. This independent resource is not a substitute for a first aid course or medical assessment. An editorial update is not independent clinical review. Source organisations have not endorsed this site.

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