BOISE, Idaho — A warning for parents with young children regarding anti-choking devices.
Experts at St. Luke's Children's Hospital say these devices are not a substitute for life-saving CPR training.
The anti-choking devices are often sold online and marketed on various social media platforms.
They claim to clear a person's airways by using air pressure to suck out the item inside a person's throat while they are choking.
"They target on their website that these are great products for infants when in fact their device suggests that they need to be over 22 pounds, well over the infant stage," said Dr. Allison Gauthier, St. Luke's Children's Pediatric Emergency Department Director.
There have also been no human clinical peer-reviewed trials or studies on anyone alive using the devices, only on cadavers.
St. Luke's provides at-home training kits so you can feel comfortable and qualified to perform CPR if need be.