How to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

You have 5-7 minutes to save your life.

Make sure you are safe

Inspect the scene before giving first aid. If something threatens your safety, such as exposed wires or fire, do not approach the victim. Call the rescuers on 112 or fix the problem yourself, say, remove the broken glass.

If possible, wear disposable gloves and goggles to protect you from contact with blood and saliva.

Check if the victim is conscious

Walk up and call the person loudly. If he doesn't answer, shake your shoulders. If there is no reaction, then the person is unconscious: go to the next step.

In case he reacted in any way, leave him in the same position. Ask what happened and look from head to toe. If necessary, provide assistance and call an ambulance.

Free your airways

Turn the victim onto their back. Tilt his head back by straightening his neck and raising his chin. This will help clear the sunken tongue from your throat.

Open the victim's mouth and examine. If there is anything there, remove it. Any foreign object interferes with breathing.

Check your breath

Bend your cheek towards the victim's open mouth. For 10 seconds, listen carefully to your breath, feel the flow of air with your skin, and observe how the chest moves. During this time, a person must take at least two breaths. If he is not breathing, proceed to the next step.

If a person breathes rarely (less than twice in 10 seconds), is noisy or barely audible, consider that there is no breathing and get ready to conduct resuscitation.

Do not check breathing with a mirror or feather. Such methods are unreliable and time-consuming. Don't try to check your pulse: getting it right takes practice.

Call an ambulance

Call 103. To save time, ask someone to help you. Turn on the speakerphone to simultaneously listen to the dispatcher's prompts and conduct resuscitation.

Do 30 chest compressions

This technique is suitable for adults and adolescents who look over the age of 14. Read about how to do resuscitation for young children below.

Place the victim on their back on a firm surface and kneel on the side of them. Free your chest from clothing. It is very important to find the right place for chest compressions: the effectiveness of resuscitation largely depends on this.

Place the base of the palm just below the center of the sternum (the bone to which the ribs are attached). Place your other palm on top and put your fingers together in a lock. Straighten your elbows and keep your shoulders straight over your arms.

Press on the sternum with all your weight, pushing it 5–6 cm at a speed of 100–120 clicks per minute (about twice a second). Before doing the next press, do not lift your arms and wait until your chest is straightened.

Take two artificial breaths

Artificial respiration can be dangerous if given to a stranger. If you do not know how to do this or are afraid of catching something, limit yourself to only chest compressions. For personal protection, cardiopulmonary resuscitation valve film can be used.

After 30 clicks, tilt the victim's head back to clear the airways. Pinch your nose with your fingers, open your mouth and tightly cover the latter with your lips. Inhale the victim evenly for 1 second. Watch your chest: it should rise. If there is no movement, tilt your head back again and take a second breath. All this should take no more than 10 seconds.

Continue resuscitation

Alternate cardiac massage and artificial respiration in the ratio of 30 strokes and 2 breaths. You can stop resuscitation in three cases:

1. An ambulance arrived.
2. The victim began to breathe or woke up.
3. You are physically exhausted.

If possible, find a helper for yourself and alternate with him to reduce fatigue.

Turn the victim onto their side

If a person is unconscious, but breathing, then he must be turned on his side so that he does not suffocate with his tongue or vomit.

How to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation for children

Check for signs of life in children in the same way as in adults. If the child is unconscious and not breathing, call an ambulance and continue with the following algorithm.

Take five artificial breaths. For children who look from 1 to 14 years old, proceed in the same way as for adults, and babies need to cover their mouth and nose and mouth at the same time.

Then check your breathing again. If it is not there, start resuscitation in the ratio of 15 strokes (with a frequency of two per second) and two artificial breaths. Press to a depth of one-third of the thickness of the chest. If the child is small, act with one hand, if older - with two.

For infants under 1 year old, pressing is performed with fingers. To do this, grab the baby so that the thumbs are on top of the sternum. Find the xiphoid process - this is where the lower ribs meet with the sternum. Step back from its edge 1–1.5 cm up and place your thumbs above the sternum. You can also press with the middle and forefinger at the same point.