Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine: First Aid for the Choking Child

More than 300 children in the United States die annually as a result of choking. Pediatricians should review the risk of choking with parents during routine health care visits and encourage families to obtain formal training with local agencies such as the American Red Cross and American Heart Association.

Any child who has choked on a foreign body and is coughing, crying, or speaking is best left to his/her own reflexes to relieve the obstruction.