I taught a preschool class many years ago. One students was choking on a round hard candy (a big no-no!) and my first act was to firmly hit her between the shoulder blades with the palm of my hand. Thankfully, that was enough to dislodge the candy.
It is also important to remember the universal sign for choking (grabbing your neck with two hands, IIRC). This is something I teach my adult English learners.
That was a different one from the one I mentioned. But it probably has happened more than a few times over the years. I think there is a natural desire on some people’s part to remove themselves from company if they are in some kind of distress.
In NY there’s always a poster on the wall usually somewhere near the restrooms showing you how to do it.
They taught us to ask, “Can you talk?” as a first step. Apparently if you can, you are getting at least a little air through, and the Heinluch may not be needed.
The point is to apply a strong thrust to a specific part of the body (just below the diaphragm). I don’t see how falling on the floor is going to apply that specific and concentrated thrust needed.
Have you tried it? It does expel a lot of air fast.
^Lol, not on purpose. A few weeks ago, while riding my bike on a dedicated trail, a dog walking with a group of people ahead of me turned right in front of me. I hit my front brake way too hard. I flew over the handle bars and landed very hard on the concrete. It really really hurt.
I didn’t have anything stuck in my trachea, so I wasn’t able to test your theory. I was pretty distracted by the whole body pain I was experiencing to notice how much air I expelled at what speed. 
Can you keep trying on the floor if the initial fall doesn’t work? My sense is that it often takes multiple thrusts to work – seems like the chair gives you that chance.
One of the problems with the Heimleich maneuver is that people watch TV, and assume you can only free someone who is choking from behind, when the point is trying to free what is caught. While when it comes to a choking person, doing something is far better than doing nothing, one of the problems is people see the heimleich as being the classic stand behind the person and thrust up into the diaphragm, but that is only one of the methods they teach. For example, the first attempt is a sharp upward blow on the back, that can be even more effective than the abdominal thrust, you try that first usually, then switch to the abdominal thrust. If someone is down on the ground, then you can do the thrust with them lying on their back, by doing a thrust below the diaphragm (it is similar to what is used with someone who has taken in water, to force the water out). You can lie someone on their side, and do a sharp blow upward between the shoulder blades…and then there is the more disgusting part for many people, doing a finger sweep, often the obstruction is close up, and can be dislodged. A 5’ tall woman can effectively unblock a big person’s blocked airway, it is just a matter of figuring out the right way.
I have used it twice, once was a young kid (came right out), the other was an older guy who had swallowed a big piece of hard bread, that took me a combination of things to get it out, finally got it with my finger (which can also be a good way to get it bitten off, if the guy reacts. )
One thing, if you ever are around someone who has choked on something, encourage them to go to the er or to a doctor as soon as possible. Sometimes when something obstructs the airway like that it can damage it, cause wounds, and the airway can later close up in reaction. This is especially true if the item is something like a hard piece of bread or a bone, with the guy who swallowed the piece of italian bread, he wouldn’t get checked out despite myself and his wife telling him to, he later that night had a hard time breathing, and yep, the bread had caused damage that swelled up on him…fortunately he was okay,got to the hospital in time.
I took a CPR class years ago in college (there was a PE core req that it satisfied), and I learned how to do the doggie heimlich just in case. Knock wood never needed either one.
Recently my 17 yo daughter and I watched a YouTube video on how to use an epi pen. She has a peanut allergy and we’ve had one for her since she was six (not the same one. I know they expire and cost me $200 every time I have to get a new one). She had mentioned that she didn’t know if she could read the directions on the pen if she had an issue, and it was sort of a lightbulb moment for both of us.
Yes, they were adamant in our training that the person has to go to the ER right afterwards.
Summer 1992, Johnson City, NY. The guy was probably 6’5", 350 lbs, and my arms were barely long enough. The guy had been eating with his petite wife, so he was staggering down the aisle, holding his throat, turning purple, looking for help. Two thrusts cleared the burger, the third was because I was a little too amped up.
I’ve watched my wife do CPR on two people (both died). She had a lot of practice from her years on the cardiac care units. This thread reminds me its time to renew.
We (S2 and I) learned how to do epi-pens in our Wilderness First Aid course.
Unfortunately, the survival rate for people experiencing cardio pulmonary arrest “in the field” is woefully low.
The Epi-Pen website often has a coupon for a rebate for the Epi-Pen copay. I have used it most of the time to reduce or eliminate the copay.
It also comes with a sample pen you can practice with. It’s good to review periodically. I’ve had to carry an epi pen for over a decade now but hope never to need it.
As to learning to use an Epi pen on YouTube, that’s cool. I’m amazed at what you can learn on YouTube. Once I was in a rental car and needed to get gas on the way back to the airport. I couldn’t find the switch to open the gas cap door! I finally checked on Youtube, and there it was, in a very odd place IIRC. After struggling and sweating to get an oversized King comforter into a duvet cover, I thought “I wonder if it would have been easier if I’d checked YouTube first?” And yep, in a one minute video, I saw how easy it could have been done. Well, there’s always next time. 
My husband and I both tried it on our living room carpet. It doesn’t knock you out or anything, just forces the air out of your lungs fast. I don’t see why one couldn’t repeat it if necessary. It’s not harmful-- it’s just a belly flop.
We don’t have any chairs whose backs aren’t too high to lean over, and even the arms of our sofa are not accessible (end tables on both sides.) That only leaves the floor, for us.
I used it on my two-year old about one month after my husband and I completed an infant & child CPR course. We were at my husband’s company picnic and he was dressed as Santa (in July!). My daughter and I were sitting on the lawn and Santa was walking around handing out candy. He walked over and handed her a round butterscotch candy. I said, “SANTA, you know she can’t have that!” He said, “That’s what they gave me.” Santa continued on, but my daughter had immediately unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth. I told her that she was going to stay right there while she ate it. Almost immediately, she got a funny look on her face. I asked if she could talk. She nodded, no. I asked her if she was choking and she nodded yes! Funny thing was that her size put her between an infant and a child (different methods) and I had mentioned to my husband, during the class, that I wondered which method we would use on her. Well, I understood the mechanics, so, while she was standing and facing me, I lifted her dress and used my thumbs to press hard and fast up under her ribs. That candy shot out of her mouth instantly. We both burst out crying and the people around us on the lawn applauded. I scooped her up and ran to find Santa to give him an earful.
The method I used wasn’t either method, just a way to get the air to push the candy out!
I do know the Heimlich as well as basic CPR and I pray I’d be able to actually use either if a situation presented itself. The part of CPR that I am more fuzzy on is the use of an AED.
My husband and a co-worker performed CPR on another co-worker. He survived. The funny thing, the guy was someone they could not stand. They did it anyway. There wasn’t any doubt that they would, it was just weird.
I had a coworker who did CPR on her husband of less than one year. He died anyway, and he was only in his early 40s. 