Cremona Sera – Policeman saves a child who was suffocating by performing “the Heimlich maneuver”

On the evening of Thursday 18 April, the State Police carried out a public rescue activity, saving a two-year-old child from suffocation.
During a regular patrol of the territory, personnel of the UPGSP Flying Squad of the Cremona Police Headquarters were attracted by the desperate cries for help of a woman whose origin could not be determined.
Immediately, the operators started looking for the source of the screams, realizing shortly after that from the balcony of the second floor of a house they could see a woman in a strong state of agitation, holding an apparently lifeless child in her arms.
The woman, in a panic, continually shook the body of the unconscious child, pointing him out several times to the operators, crying and screaming phrases in a foreign language.
Considered to be a possible danger to the child’s life, the Flying Squad personnel went inside the condominium complex where the woman and child were.
Once they arrived on the landing, the Flying Squad personnel found the woman in a strong state of agitation with evident hyperventilation, visibly frightened by what was happening to her son, who appeared helpless, with the skin of his face a bluish color. -purple, typical consequence of an insufficient quantity of oxygen in the blood.
Considering the seriousness of the state in which the minor found himself, the operators, immediately realizing that it could be suffocation, immediately called the 118 health personnel. In the meantime, given the urgency of intervening to help the minor, one of the two operators proceeded without delay to carry out the so-called “Heimlich” maneuver, placing the child in a prone position on the left forearm, applying some light blows.
After several attempts to clear the obstruction, the child gradually regained normal color and subsequently consciousness, starting to cough and cry.
At this point, the UPGSP Flying Squad personnel, awaiting the arrival of 118, entered the house to check with the mother on the condition of the child, who was alert and reactive to stimuli.
There was another minor in the house: a 4-year-old girl scared for the safety of her little brother. Once the child and her mother were reassured, we awaited the arrival of the 118 personnel who would carry out further checks on the spot and then transport the child, mother and sister to the emergency room for further checks.