Mia does the 'reverse sneezing' thing and when she does, I pick her up, putting upward pressure under/against her diaphragm with my right hand (almost a one-handed 'Heimlich' maneuver to help push air out the 'right' way), then put the heel of my left hand over her nostrils, and my fingers on top of her head to snug up the block. I block her nostrils for a few seconds until her breathing settles down...she will inhale through her mouth and swallow a few times, too. I continue to 'settle' her with soft conversation ("it's okay...breathe...breathe..."), snuggling, and caressing under her chin, etc. until she is calmer and breathing normally. It 'spooks' her when the 'reverse sneezing' starts, and it is usually only when she gets gets all excited and jumping around...like she 'forgets' how to breathe in all that excitement...and she does not do it every time she gets excited either.
Mia has no breathing issues from running or playing hard, etc., but when she gets the reverse sneezing, she will run to me for help...she doesn't like it much. It will stop on its own...rather, her breathing will correct itself after a bit...but she knows I can help her stop it much faster.
Brody has had a few reverse sneezes, and I handle them the same way. Granddaughter Chi had reverse sneezes while I was puppy sitting her, too, and I handled them the same way...before I got Brody and Mia.
Incidentally, if humans drink too fast and it goes 'down the wrong pipe' they might try continuing sipping and swallowing instead of coughing and hacking. It's tricky at first, but I discovered this trick by accident...just tried it once after thinking about Mia and the reverse sneezing and why what I do works, etc., and, amazingly, it fixed the coughing and sputtering very quickly! So, now I always grab my drink and start sipping and swallowing...and it's hard to do it at first, but I just continue to drink and it makes the 'hacking up a lung' effect disappear very quickly. The sooner you start drinking again, the more quickly it seems to work. |