Dr Henry Heimlich uses Heimlich manoeuvre for first time, aged 96

[Ron Obvious]

I had no idea this guy was even still alive. Cool story.

The 96-year-old surgeon credited with developing his namesake Heimlich manoeuvre recently used the emergency technique for the first time himself to save a woman choking on food at his retirement home.

Dr Henry Heimlich told the Cincinnati Enquirer in an interview on Thursday that he has demonstrated the well-known manoeuvre many times through the years but had never before used it on a person who was choking.

<snip>

Heimlich said it made him appreciate how wonderful it had been “to be able to save all those lives”.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/27/dr-heimlich-performs-heimlich-manoeuvre-for-first-time-aged-96#comments

[cali]

1. What a great story about a great man. Fuck you Trumpus

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Second time, according to the BBC

It is thought to be only the second time Dr Henry Heimlich has used it in an emergency.
...
In 2003, he told the BBC that he had used the technique on a man choking in a restaurant when he was about 80 years old.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36400365

[hunter]

3. He is not a nice man.

One of his sons is a conservative Christian radio hack and the other has a website denouncing his dad as having a "wide-ranging, unseen 50-year history of fraud."

Heimlich's wife is a homeopath, and Heimlich advocated some awful medical experiments in Africa, deliberately infecting people with malaria hoping to cure cancer, AIDS, Lyme disease...

[Lucky Luciano]

4. Sounds like a wannabe Mengele. nt

[hunter]

7. If you wish to see a son's fury, here:

http://medfraud.info

[csziggy]

24. Wow - that gives a whole new perspective on the man

I haven't read all of it but the arguments against the Heimlich maneuver strike home. About a year ago a friend choked on a piece of meat. People who were with her tried the maneuver before calling 911. By the time the EMTs got there, she had been without air for a significant amount of time. At the hospital she was declared brain dead. Her body was put on life support long enough for her daughters to get there and to give approval for organ donations.

Now I wonder if my friend might have lived if the infamous Heimlich maneuver had been outed by the media for the fraud his son claims it it.

[trotsky]

8. Before antibiotics, the only cure for syphilis was deliberate infection with malaria.

The fever from malaria killed the syphilis bug, then you administered quinine to cure the malaria. Worked MOST of the time.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24185088

Wagner-Jauregg was also a Nazi dirtbag though.

[valerief]

16. We might be going back to that with the news that antibiotics no longer

work on superbugs. And measles is said to cure cancer.

[Ron Obvious]

9. I had no idea!

I found the article denouncing him as a fraud. I don't know what to think of this...

I detest homoeopathy, but I can hardly hold his son and wife's views against him.

[nilram]

14. Yeah, I've read about him and his views make him sound like a fruitcake.

And there's some research now that the old method of hitting someone on the back may be just as effective as the Heimlich maneuver, but I don't think it's conclusive. Shrug. Glad the lady got the obstruction removed. He's the hero of the retirement community now.

[jtuck004]

15. " old method of hitting someone on the back may be just as effectiv" Depends. That puts no force

on the diaphragm, which is the force that expels the object. If it was rather high up it might come out, (As in you could take it out with your fingers) but that would likely just result in a dead person if it is very far down or lodged well.

I've done it a couple times, and it does take some damn force to blow stuff out. You aren't gonna get that by thumping someone on their back muscles, lol.

Would like to see a link on anything like that, but I suspect it's not something one wants to experiment with on anyone they care about saving, There is nearly always opposing research for almost anything, but there is much more to actually increasing our understanding than existence. eh?

Who or what he is or was has nothing to do with the science.

[nilram]

18. Agree that his views are incidental to discussion of the event or his technique.

I don't have access to the article that questions the maneuver's effectiveness. Originally, they did testing of the maneuver on animals.

Especially the way you describe it, I agree that the technique makes total sense. However, according to the Mayo Clinic, the Red Cross now recommends "five sharp back blows with the heel of the hand, followed by five abdominal thrusts." (http://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-choking/basics/ART-20056637)

On edit: Here's a couple of articles on the Red Cross revising it's recommendations to de-emphasize the Heimlich Maneuver. They both have to mention the issues with his son, but, reportedly, the Red Cross studies the health effects in question when making its recommendations.

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/red-cross-revises-tips-for-helping-choking-victims/Content?oid=2130835
http://www.nysun.com/new-york/maneuvering-over-heimlich/48992/

[jtuck004]

19. AHA guidelines are different.The red cross uses its fundraising to promote stuff that I am not

always sure is in anyone's best interests, along with some good things. They get a lot of uncritical support because of what they do, which is too bad.

Without that criticism it gets us back to judging the facts of the science by what they have done or who they are, and that's an error.

Anyway, from that page, and my own professional experience -

"The American Heart Association doesn't teach the back blow technique, only the abdominal thrust procedures. It's OK not to use back blows, if you haven't learned the technique. Both approaches are acceptable."

They are being too nice, If one is doing something that isn't helping, and the person is really in trouble, they are killing them by getting in the way of what works.

If their airway is really obstructed, I would prefer one not waste time by slapping them on the back like they were an old friend.

[nilram]

21. You've undoubtedly studied it more than I, and I do agree about the Red Cross.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

5. Henry? I thought his name was Gunther.

[Ron Obvious]

10. LOL I love Eddie Izzard!

I also remember reading a humorous bit written by Woody Allen about Heimlich's development of his manoeuvre. It had him hanging around restaurants with his staff waiting for the opportunity to try the next version of it and being ejected by the staff.

I remember it being hilarious but I can't find it online yet.

[Bluenorthwest]

17. The Story is called 'A Giant Step For Mankind'

"Today was a productive one for Shulamith and me. Working around the clock, we induced strangulation in a mouse. This was accomplished by coaxing the rodent to ingest healthy portions of Gouda cheese and then making it laugh. Predictably, the food went down the wrong pipe, and choking occurred. Grasping the mouse firmly by the tail, I snapped it like a small whip, and the morsel of cheese came loose. Shulamith and I made voluminous notes on the experiment. If we can transfer the tail-snap procedure to humans, we may have something. Too early to tell."

And so forth.

[Ron Obvious]

22. That's it, thanks! n/t

[napkinz]

6. his cousin was on Happy Days ... Anson Williams (Heimlich)

[Ron Obvious]

11. No way!

Who knew? Well, you did, obviously

[napkinz]

12. Way! :)

(I had the same reaction when I first learned about it.)

[Boomerproud]

23. You beat me to it.

I saw that tidbit of info in Wiki.

[kairos12]

13. I'm glad while under pressure he didn't choke.

[malaise]

20. Very cool - made me smile

Rec

[Duval]

25. That was awesome!! K&R