- TOKYO (Reuters) - An 80-year-old Japanese man choking on food was saved
by a quick-thinking emergency medical worker and a relative who dislodged
the stuck morsel with a vacuum cleaner, fire officials said on Saturday.
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- The pensioner living in suburban Osaka
was eating sukiyaki on Saturday night with his family when some "Devil's
tongue" got lodged in his throat, they said. Devil's tongue, a grey,
spongy paste made from arum root, is often used in Japanese stews and hot
pots.
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- The man fell unconscious and the emergency
rescue dispatcher, who responded to a call from the family, advised them
at first of other ways of saving him.
-
- When they failed, the dispatcher instructed
the man's 25-year-old granddaughter on the proper way to insert the vacuum
cleaner tube into the choking man's mouth. The granddaughter then flipped
the switch on the vacuum cleaner, and out came the devil's tongue, a local
fire official said.
-
- "The use of the vacuum cleaner was
the absolute last resort," the fire official said.
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- The man regained consciousness by the
time the ambulance arrived and was expected to make a complete recovery,
he said.
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- "About two or three times a year
we advise the use of a vacuum cleaner to aid a choking victim. Most of
the cases occur around New Year when senior citizens choke on chewy rice
cakes (a seasonal food)," he said.
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