What to Do
Let People Help Themselves as Much as They Can
When you help to feed a person follow these tips:
- Know the foods a person prefers to eat
- Serve food at the temperature the person prefers
- Provide meals at a time when a person is rested and has energy to eat
- Let a person decide on the order of food he or she wants to eat and how fast
- Cut food in small bite size pieces
- If a person is receiving chemotherapy, avoid foods that have strong odors. Food tastes change often as a side effect of the chemotherapy drugs. Always check what foods are more tolerable than others.
- Serve plates one at a time. Too many plates can be overwhelming and confusing.
- If the person has poor vision, tell him or her where the foods are on the plate as if it was the face of a clock (see photo). Place foods, drinks, and dishes in the same place at each meal.
- Use adaptive devices, if needed
- Straws can be helpful with drinks, unless the person you are feeding has dysphagia.
Make Mealtime Pleasant
There are ways you can increase a person’s appetite or desire to eat.
- Remove or control any bad odors in the area where the person eats.
- Have the person brush their teeth or rinse their mouth before eating.
- Have the person go to the bathroom and wash their hands before eating so that he or she is comfortable.
- Make mealtime pleasant by talking with the person, have a good conversation.
If a Person Chokes While Eating
If a person begins to choke be sure they are sitting up straight. If they can speak, the choking is not life threatening.
Have them remove any food in their mouth and wait till the choking stops. Do not force them to eat or drink while choking. In some cases you might care for a person who uses oral suction routinely. Oral suction is a good way to remove secretions. See our lesson on Oral Suctioning.
Heimlich Maneuver - If the person choking cannot speak, cough, or breathe, call 911 immediately. While waiting for emergency responders stay calm and perform the Heimlich maneuver.
- Stand or kneel behind the person. Wrap your arms around his or her waist.
- If the person is standing, place one of your legs between his or her legs so you can support the person if he or she faints.
- Make a fist with one hand. Place the thumb side of your fist against the person’s upper abdomen, below the ribcage, but above the belly button.
- Grasp your fist with the other hand. Give a quick upward thrust up into the upper abdomen. This may cause the food to pop out. You may need to use more force for a large person and less for a child or small adult.
- Repeat thrusts until the object pops out or the person faints.
If you cannot reach around the person, call 911 and do the following:
- Ease the person to the floor and place them on their back.
- Facing the person, kneel astride the victim's hips.
- With one of your hands on top of the other, place the heel of your bottom hand on the upper abdomen below the rib cage and above the belly button.
- Use your body weight to press into the victim's upper abdomen with a quick upward thrust.
- Repeat until object is expelled.
If the person stops breathing and loses their heartbeat (pulse) CPR may be necessary. Do not do CPR on someone if you have not been trained.