5 Tips on how to use a LifeVac anti-choking device on children and adults

After teaching first aid courses on the Gold Coast for many years, there are a few questions that come up. One of the most common questions is, “How do you help someone who is choking?”

Thankfully, many of us have never experienced this, and we hope we never do. But if it happens, a choking emergency is one of the most confronting moments you’ll ever face. Whether it’s your toddler at the dinner table, your partner at a barbecue or an elderly parent with swallowing difficulties – those few moments can feel like forever.

That’s why we encourage people to prepare themselves for this kind of emergency with choking first aid. Our instructors always teach the Australian Resuscitation Council’s recommended choking first aid techniques first. But we also know that sometimes those techniques don’t work. That’s where the LifeVac® Anti-Choking Device can provide another airway clearance option.

If you’ve bought a LifeVac, here are some tips on how to use it properly:

Don’t panic – remember your first aid

The first thing we tell people is this: don’t reach for the LifeVac immediately. When someone is choking, your first response should always be the standard Australian first aid techniques you’ve hopefully learned or practised before. Call 000, start the recommended choking first aid and stay as calm as possible.

If the obstruction can’t be cleared using those techniques, that’s when the LifeVac is designed to be used as an additional airway clearance device.

Open the kit today

Once purchased, many people put their new LifeVac anti–choking device into the cupboard until they need it. 

Instead, take five minutes to open it. Read through the instructions, have a look at the different mask sizes and think about which one would fit your child, yourself or your parents. It might not seem important today, but if you ever need to use it, you’ll be incredibly grateful you’re already familiar with how it works.

How to use a LifeVac

One of the main reasons people freeze in emergencies is that they are trying to learn under pressure. The LifeVac is designed to be straightforward to use, but like any emergency equipment, it’s much easier if you’ve seen it before.

We always recommend watching the demonstration video and reading the instructions that come with the LifeVac kit. Once you’ve seen how it works, it all makes much more sense. 

Ensure everyone knows where it is

If you’ve invested in a LifeVac, you need to keep it somewhere that is easy to access, and in a place where everyone knows where it is. Emergency equipment should never be hidden away somewhere people don’t know about. 

Hope you’ll never need it, but be prepared as though you might

This is the best advice we can give. Buying emergency equipment isn’t about expecting something terrible to happen, it’s about knowing you’ve done everything to protect yourself and the people you love.

Buy a LifeVac Anti-Choking Device

The LifeVac Anti-Choking Device is Australia’s only ARTG-approved anti-choking device (ARTG No. 452066) and is trusted by families, schools, childcare centres, aged care providers and healthcare professionals across the country.

Buy A LifeVac Anti-Choking Device

If the day ever comes when standard choking first aid hasn’t worked, you’ll know it’s there, you’ll know how to use it, and you’ve given yourself the best chance to help while emergency services are on their way.

At First Aid Accident and Emergency, our first aid trainers want for every family we meet. Because being prepared isn’t about living in fear, it’s about giving yourself confidence when someone you care about needs you most.