Brief overview
- What is the Esmarch handle? A special handle that a first responder uses to open the airway of an unconscious person.
- Here’s how the Esmarch grab works: kneel behind the victim, place your thumb on your chin, place your remaining fingers under your jawbone, and then push your lower jaw forward and your chin down.
- In what cases? In unconscious patients, to clear the mouth and throat of any foreign bodies or to place a breathing aid.
- Risks: The classic Esmarch grip involves hyperextending the victim’s head backward. This can damage the spinal cord in the case of cervical vertebrae injuries.
Caution.
- The correct Esmarch grip is difficult to learn.
- In case of (suspected) cervical spine injuries, one therefore applies the modified Esmarch grip. The head remains in a neutral (normal) position.
- If possible, wear disposable gloves when using the Esmarch handle (as with first aid measures in general).
How does the Esmarch handle work?
Esmarch handle: Here’s how to do it!
This is how you proceed with the classic Esmarch handle:
- Lay the unconscious patient on his back, preferably on a flat, hard surface.
- Kneel behind him, more precisely: behind his head.
- Hyperextend the patient’s head slightly backwards. Overextending (also called a life-saving maneuver) can make it easier to clear the airway.
- Now place your thumbs on the unconscious person’s chin and the remaining fingers on both sides of the head under the jawbone, in the area of the jaw angle. The ball of the thumb can be supported on the patient’s cheekbone in each case, but not too close to the eyes to avoid injury to the eyeball.
- Fix this position with one hand. If necessary, you can now use the other hand to remove foreign bodies from the mouth and throat of the unconscious person. If a cervical spine injury can be ruled out, you can turn the head of the unconscious person on its side.
Modified Esmarch handle
With this variant, you basically proceed in the same way as with the classic Esmarch maneuver. However, you refrain from hyperextending the victim’s head. This “modified Esmarch hand hold” is used for (suspected) cervical spine injuries.
When do I do the Esmarch hand hold?
Apply the Esmarch handle to check an unconscious person to see if his or her airway is blocked and, if necessary, to remove foreign bodies from the mouth and throat. In addition, the Esmarch handle is necessary to place breathing aids or suction devices on an unconscious person.
If a person stops breathing, you must act immediately and start resuscitation! Without oxygen, the affected person can die after only a few minutes.
The Esmarch handle for children
In principle, the mouth of unconscious newborns, infants and small children can also be opened using the Esmarch handle. You can read about what you should bear in mind in the article Esmarch handle in children.
Risks of the Esmarch handle
Avoid overstretching the head of the unconscious person too much backwards (in the classic Esmarch handle)! Otherwise the airways will narrow or the distance between the base of the tongue and the back of the throat will be reduced. Blood vessels can also be constricted in this overextended form of the Esmarch handgrip.
If you perform the classic Esmarch hold (with overstretching of the head) on cervical spine injuries, you may damage the spinal cord.
