If someone is choking and can still cough, encourage them to keep coughing. If they can’t cough, speak or breathe, give up to five sharp back blows between the shoulder blades, then up to five abdominal thrusts (chest thrusts for a baby under one). If the blockage hasn’t cleared, call 999 or 112 and keep repeating until help arrives. Start CPR if they become unresponsive.
Updated 13 October 2026 · Sources: St John Ambulance, Resuscitation Council UK, ONS (via St John Ambulance)
Start back blows straight away. If someone else is with you, ask them to call 999 or 112 while you help. If you are alone with a choking baby and the blockage hasn’t cleared, take the baby with you to the phone.
Choking in four numbers
Deaths: ONS data for England, 2020–2024, as published by St John Ambulance on 17 August 2026. Survey: Censuswide for St John Ambulance, 2,001 UK adults, August 2026. Choking can happen to anyone, at any age; babies and young children need slightly different first aid, explained below.
What do people get wrong about choking?
In the same survey, one in five adults wrongly thought you should pull the blockage out with your fingers, and 13% said to give the person water. Neither is in the first aid guidance: a blind finger sweep can push the object further down, and someone who can’t breathe can’t safely swallow. The chart shows the gaps.
Key: Know the steps = know how to use back blows and abdominal thrusts; Never learned = have never learned first aid; Use fingers = wrongly think you should pull the blockage out with fingers; Thrusts unknown = have never heard of abdominal thrusts or the Heimlich manoeuvre; Give water = wrongly think you should give water. Source: St John Ambulance / Censuswide, August 2026.
How do you know someone is choking?
Choking often happens suddenly while eating. The person may struggle to breathe, speak or cough, go red and puffy in the face, and point to or grab at their throat. If they can still cough, speak or breathe, the blockage is partial and they may clear it themselves. If they can’t breathe, cough or make any noise, they need your help straight away.
What to do if an adult is choking
1. Ask “Are you choking?”
2. Give up to 5 back blows
3. Give up to 5 abdominal thrusts
4. Call 999 or 112
5. If they become unresponsive, start CPR
Steps based on St John Ambulance choking guidance and the Resuscitation Council UK adult basic life support guidelines. A first aid course teaches the hands-on skill; this guide is a reminder, not a replacement. If someone stops breathing, see how to do CPR and use a defibrillator.
What to do if a child is choking
For a child over one, the steps are the same as for an adult: encourage coughing, then up to five back blows with the child leaning forward, then up to five abdominal thrusts. After each one, check the mouth and pick out anything you can see, but don’t sweep a finger around, as that can push the object further down. Call 999 or 112 if it hasn’t cleared.
What to do if a baby is choking
Lay the baby face down along your thigh, supporting the head, and give up to five back blows between the shoulder blades. If that fails, turn the baby onto their back on your knees and give up to five chest thrusts on the breastbone, sharper than CPR compressions. Check the mouth after each one. Call 999 or 112 if it hasn’t cleared, taking the baby with you.
Adult, child or baby: what changes
Based on St John Ambulance adult, child and baby choking pages. Babies get chest thrusts, not abdominal thrusts.
When should you call 999?
Call 999 or 112 as soon as back blows and thrusts haven’t cleared the blockage, or straight away if someone else can call while you help. Also call if the person becomes unresponsive, then start CPR. If they are coughing well and breathing, stay with them and watch closely: a partial blockage can still get worse.
▲ red = act now, ▬ amber = get checked, ▼ green = watch closely. Not sure which number fits? See when to call 999, 101 or 111.
Myths vs facts
Frequently asked questions
St John Ambulance says every child who has had abdominal thrusts, and every baby who has had chest thrusts, should be seen in hospital, even if the blockage has cleared. For an adult, if they still have pain, a persistent cough or trouble swallowing or breathing afterwards, call NHS 111 for advice, or 999 if breathing gets worse.
Yes. Abdominal thrusts are often called the Heimlich manoeuvre. In UK first aid guidance they come after back blows: up to five back blows first, then up to five abdominal thrusts, repeated until the blockage clears or help arrives.
Keep building your skills: the recovery position for someone unresponsive but breathing, how to tell 999 exactly where you are, and first aid for heavy bleeding. For other safety topics for families, see our parents’ guide to stranger danger.
Sources
- St John Ambulance: choking (adult)
- St John Ambulance: child choking
- St John Ambulance: baby choking
- St John Ambulance: one in three Britons unaware choking can be fatal in minutes (17 August 2026; ONS deaths data and Censuswide survey)
- Resuscitation Council UK: adult basic life support guidelines (choking)
General first aid information, not medical advice, and no substitute for a first aid course. In an emergency, always call 999.
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