A 23-year-old man died after choking on a piece of meat on Wednesday afternoon (24) in Taió, a city in the Itajaí Valley. The victim was identified as Claudio Pimenta Junior.
According to the Urgency and Emergency Service (Samu), he was at work when he choked. O young man was married and the couple’s first daughter was born last month.
People tried to help him, but he died before being taken to a health unit. The victim worked for a company outsourced by the State government that recovers and elevates the SC-350.
Information about the victim’s identity was confirmed by Funerária Taioense. Junior’s farewell ceremony took place on Thursday afternoon (25) at the Campo Santo cemetery.
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In a note published on social media, the city hall reported that Gustavo Prudêncio Pedro, as he was identified, was the son of a public servant in the municipality.
Choking deaths in Brazil
In 2023, at least 2,000 people died from choking in Brazil, according to data from the Ministry of Health. The biggest victims were babies, aged 0 to 4, or elderly people, over 65 years old.
The occurrences were recorded in different parts of the country and happen when there is a deviation from the path of some food or drink in the body. Instead of going into the esophagus, the ingested item goes into the airway: trachea, larynx, trachea and lungs.
Choking killed more than 2,000 people last year, most of them elderly people and babies
There is a technique that, if applied during the first signs of suffocation, can save lives. And the Heimlich maneuver. Seamus explained the step by step.
The person will position themselves behind the person who is choking. Then, he will place a closed fist four fingers above her navel. Then, bring the other hand to apply pressure, five times in relation to the victim’s head.
If the choking person is alone, the technique is similar. Four fingers above the navel, closed fist, under your other hand, throwing our body weight onto a barrier until the food or liquid is expelled.
Another option is to do this without using your hands, leaning on a bulkhead.
