Does ResQVac work okay for self-use?

I keep mine in the kitchen drawer since that’s where most choking stuff happens anyway. Never actually needed it yet, which I guess is a good thing. My main concern was whether I could work it solo, and just practicing the motion on myself felt doable.

I actually disagree with the “not realistic” take. I’ve used mine solo twice when something went down wrong and it cleared it. You can get enough pull on yourself if you brace it right. It’s awkward but it works.

I’ve been going back and forth on this too. The self-use thing is really the whole reason I’d buy one, but I can’t tell if it’s actually doable when you’re panicking or if that’s just marketing talk. Curious what people who’ve actually tried it solo think.

I think the self-use question gets overcomplicated. The way I see it, the device is basically a backup plan, not a guaranteed solo rescue. Before I had anything at home, my “plan” for choking alone was just hoping I could cough it out or throw myself over a chair. Which is basically a coin flip. So even if pulling the plunger on yourself is awkward, it beats the nothing I had before.

Plus the whole thing about whether you can pull hard enough kind of misses that you’re not starting from scratch. If you’re alone and can still move air even a little, you’ve got some time to work with it. If you’re fully blocked, well, you were in trouble anyway. Having something in reach that might help is a step up from a chair back and panic.

The part I’d actually focus on is just knowing where it is and how it works before you ever need it. I keep mine somewhere I can actually get to fast instead of buried in a closet. My wife rolled her eyes when I brought it home, but she also knows where it lives now, so that’s a win in my book. It’s one of those things you buy hoping you never find out if it works.

Anyway, short answer from me is that it’s worth having around. Whether it’s perfect solo is kind of beside the point when the alternative is nothing.

I haven’t picked one up yet but the self-use thing is the only reason I’d bother. My main question is whether it’s awkward to get the mask seated right with one hand while you’re panicking, since nobody really shows that part. Curious if it just becomes muscle memory after practicing once or twice.