German Man Suffocates At Pattaya Green View Village Restaurant

[Rimmer]

A German national has suffocated at the lavish Pattaya Green View Village Restaurant on Soi Siam Country Club road, whilst eating an appetising pork based dinner with his Thai wife of many years.

Pattaya, 8th of November 2009 (PDN): At 8:00pm on the 8th of November, Police Lieutenant Colonel Norawit Julwanit a police investigator from the Pattaya City area received a call from the Pattaya Memorial Hospital regarding a male foreigner who had recently died of suffocation in the hospitals Emergency Response unit (E.R.) It was explain to Lt Col Norawit that the foreign man was rushed to the hospital by ambulance as he was suffocating on some food that had got stuck in his throat at dinner. The hospital was unable to help fast enough and the man subsequently died of suffocation.

Police sent to the scene to investigate, discovered the body of a foreign man, now known to be that of Mr Manfred Schneider age 64, of German nationality. There was no sign of harm or misconduct on the body allowing police to dismiss any acts of foul play immediately, the death was also stated to have happened within the hour. Mr Schneider was accompanied by his wife Mrs Pranee Prombuht age 39, who was still seen to be sitting next to Mr Schneider’s body crying inconsolably at the death of her beloved husband.

Mrs Pranee later gave a statement to police where she informed them that her and her husband had been eating at 153/1 Pattaya Green View Village Restaurant when Mr Schneider had appeared to get something stuck in his throat. Mrs Pranee explained that after repeated attempts to dislodge the stuck food Mr Schneider began to go blue and fell on the floor suffocating. Mrs Pranee had bought over some water for Mr Schneider and slapped him on the back several times to no avail. As the situation was looking increasingly worse by the second, Mrs Pranee decided to call the Pattaya Memorial Hospital to send an ambulance immediately.

The Ambulance team arrived at the scene of the incident to find Mr Schneider had stopped breathing for several minutes already. The paramedics tried to revive him with the use of electric shock equipment, however it was no use. They proceeded to rush Mr Schneider back to the hospital where unfortunately they were unable to save him. Doctors declared that the cause of death was an un-chewed piece of fried pork lodged in his oesophagus which blocked his airway and cause him to suffocate.

Police filed a report based on the evidence provided by the doctors and Mrs Pranee, after which the body was taken to Forensic Investigators for a detailed examination and the German Embassy was informed.

Source:

http://pattayadailynews.com

[metisdead]

RIP to the victim.

A simple Heimlich maneuver would likely have saved the man's life.

http://www.heimlichinstitute.org/page.php?id=34

[TAWP]

Don't use the Heimlich maneuver automatically and not as a first step. It is overrated and carries a high risk of complications, especially if used in the wrong situation.

For example, in cases of drowning and with individuals with asthma [attack], it adds to the danger and is not recommended at all.

Just a side-note.

First step is firm back-slaps, at least 5 of them.

[kurnell]

Who would use the Heimlich maneuver on a drowning victim or someone suffering from an asthma attack? Totally unrelated and irrelevant.

[monty]

Don't use the Heimlich maneuver automatically and not as a first step. It is overrated and carries a high risk of complications, especially if used in the wrong situation.

For example, in cases of drowning and with individuals with asthma [attack], it adds to the danger and is not recommended at all.

Just a side-note.

First step is firm back-slaps, at least 5 of them.

As a trained medic (military) we are trained NEVER to slap the back of a choking victim. Doing this has the risk of locking the blocking item even more in the airway!

Determine if the airway is fully blocked (meaning completely unable to speak). If so immediately proceed with the Heimlich Maneuver AND let somebody call the emergency line. Until either the item is dislodged, or he emergency crew arrives.

If the victim can speak a little, the airway is not fully blocked, and the victim should be coerced to inhale slowly and as much as possible followed by an as powerful as possible cough...

[TAWP]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimlich_maneuver#Back_slaps

Back slaps

The majority of protocols now advocate the use of hard blows with the heel of the hand on the upper back of the victim. The number to be used varies by training organization, but is usually between five and 20.

The back slap is designed to use percussion to create pressure behind the blockage, assisting the patient in dislodging the article. In some cases the physical vibration of the action may also be enough to cause movement of the article sufficient to allow clearance of the airway.

Almost all protocols give back slaps as a technique to be used prior to the consideration of potentially damaging interventions such as abdominal thrusts, however Henry Heimlich, noted for promulgating abdominal thrusts wrote in a letter to the New York Times that back slaps were proven to cause death by lodging foreign objects in to the windpipe.

The findings of a 1982 Yale study by Day, DuBois, and Crelin that "persuaded the American Heart Association to stop recommending back blows for dealing with choking...was partially funded by Heimlich's own foundation." According to Roger White MD of the Mayo Clinic and American Heart Association (AHA), "There was never any science here. Heimlich overpowered science all along the way with his slick tactics and intimidation, and everyone, including us at the AHA, caved in."

[sbk]

Well, sad nonetheless. How awful for his wife to feel so helpless watching her husband die.

[stevymac]

the heimlich manoever saved my life wen i was 10 yrs old, i was sucking on a barley sugar sweet in class (on the sly of course) wen just my luck it gt stuck in my throat. long story short after a lot of laughin from the rest of the kids thinkin i was faking it my best m8 alerted the teacher, (he realised i wasnt that good of an actor an somethin was wrong), she pumped me twice an out flew the sweet, lucky me!

[syd barrett]

This case sounds like a laryngospasm caused by choking.

The epiglottis seal can withstand inward pressures of upto 100 kPa.

In this case an emergency cricothyroidotomy should have been performed.

The objects needed to perform this operation (a very sharp knife and drinking straws) would have been close at hand in the restaurant.

[Geekfreaklover]

This case sounds like a laryngospasm caused by choking.

The epiglottis seal can withstand inward pressures of upto 100 kPa.

In this case an emergency cricothyroidotomy should have been performed.

The objects needed to perform this operation (a very sharp knife and drinking straws) would have been close at hand in the restaurant.

That's what I was thinking. Create an air passage. Shame there wasn't anyone around with first-aid training at the time.

[Chang_paarp]

Imagine the panic if someone attacked the gentleman with a knife. With the best of intentions, but the wife and a number of the staff would have a lot to say about this if the communication prior to the act was not adequate.

Poor bloke to go in this way.