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RIP Dr. Henry Heimlich, Inventor of the Heimlich Maneuver (bbc.com)
tomhath quotes the BBC: Dr Heimlich died at the age of 96. He invented the lifesaving technique, which uses abdominal thrusts to clear a person's airway, in 1974. In May he used the technique himself to save a woman at his retirement home. He dislodged a piece of meat with a bone in it from the airway of an 87-year-old woman, telling the BBC: "I didn't know I really could do it until the other day."
RIP. While I don't know much about his life, that one brilliant idea has saved so many lives. That makes him a hero in my books -- and I don't bandie that term about casually.
I'm all choked up over it.
The Heimlich Gesture
Also, if you're in a restaurant and you're choking to death, you can say the magic words, "Heimlich maneuver." If you're just coughing and got some, you say, "Heimlich maneuver," and all will be well. The trouble is, it's very difficult to say "Heimlich maneuver" when you're choking to death. Yeah.
( mumbling and coughing )
"Your hymen’s been removed?"
"No no. ( more mumbling and coughing )
"You need it removed? Right"
I don't know how you remove a hymen... But yeah. No, Heimlich maneuver,developed by Dr. Heimlich who woke up one night, obviously, and went,
"A fist, a hand, hoocha hoocha hoocha... lobster! Yes, Hilda! Hilda! Wake up, Hilda!"
"Oh, what is it, Dr. Heimlich?"
"Why are you calling me Dr. Heimlich? I'm you're husband, for fuck's sake! Loosen up, don't be so bloody Prussian."
"Well, what is it, Günther?"
"I have invented a maneuver!"
"What are you, a bloody tank commander now?"
"No! My name is going to be famous in restaurants!"
I don't think he actually did it that way. I don't think it was ( snaps fingers ) a wing and a prayer, I think he must have experimented. He was German, organized.
( German accent ) "Ok, Hans, I want you to swallow this golf ball..."
( choking and coughing ) “I cannot breath."
“I know you cannot breath. I will now make you breath with the cunning use of..." ( muffled shot)
“I still cannot breath."
"Ok, maybe not, maybe this will ( muffled shot )
“Jesus fucking Christ!”
"Ok, then maybe with a frying pan..." Pow!
( Hans coughing throughout, as Dr Heimlich smacks him )
"Must be a combination. No, ok "
"Ok, two frying pans Frying pan in the bollocks Bollocks stop
"Frying pan"
( Hans collapses to the floor )
"Oh, he's dead."
Other doctors are going,
"How's it coming along, Dr. Heimlich?"
"Well, not very well at the moment. It's not really a maneuver at the moment. It's more of a gesture."
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
FTFA: "Dr Heimlich died at a hospital in the US city of Cincinnati early on Saturday following complications from a heart attack he suffered on Monday, his family says."
Scientist: Man! I was TOTALLY shocked. It actually worked!
Guinea Pig: What? Do you mean to tell me you didn't KNOW that would work?
Scientist: Well, I had a theory. But it's nice to see it work in practice.
Guinea Pig: Oh. I feel SO much better now...
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
The most interesting part of this summary was that he used his manoeuvre the first time in May, on an old lady no less. I mean I get that he invented it but it's interesting to me for two reasons: ... which old people are especially susceptible of. I'm actually surprised someone at 87 years old survived the manoeuvre.
1) The Heimlich is no longer taught and not recommended as a way to stop someone from choking. Instead favouring leaning a person forward and giving them a really hard smack between the base of their shoulder blades.
2) One of the reason the Heimlich is not preferred is due to the damage it causes to the body
In any case this man has saved countless lives. RIP.
Here's the story of how the maneuver was developed.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Slapping is the first stage.
"Encourage the patient to cough" is also in there.
But Heimlich - because of the possibility of causing internal damage - is the last resort when, if you don't try it, they are going to die anyway. It's literally the thing you do in the knowledge that if it doesn't work, they're dead anyway and there's nothing more you can do.
And it's not prudish - demonstrating Heimlich is rife with hands reaching blindly into places and causing damage if you're too rough. It's like CPR (again, last resort), you NEVER actually demonstrate the force of CPR that you would do to a real patient - CPR smashes broken ribs into lungs but that's better than dying.
As such, demoing with big rough guys on tiny waifs of girls is potentially dangerous, especially if there's larking about.
As anyone who runs martial arts or first aid clubs will tell you, it's not the experienced people who will hurt you. It's the novice that has no idea the power, extension or force of their movements, and no control over them.