Hands Only CPR – Is it True?
In an try to get far more people to carry out CPR the AHA is suggesting that if you witness sudden cardiac arrest of an Adult and you are unable or unwilling to carry out mouth to mouth breaths, you might perform compressions only.
This Hands-Only method does not apply to kids below 12 years old or infants.
Compressions only is not the preferred system. But, it is improved than absolutely nothing for adults following a witnessed collapse. It is believed that the victim could have up to two minutes of air in the lungs that can be circulated. Just remember, it may well realistically take Fire Division paramedics six-eight minutes to arrive on scene and take more than. That would leave your victim with no oxygen to the brain and other important organs for more than 4-6 minutes. In 3-four minutes brain harm can happen, soon after 4 minutes it becomes permanent.
To perform Hands-Only CPR you only want to confirm that the victim is not breathing. Call 9-1-1. An uncomplicated rule of thumb to identify breathing is if the victim is not moving, they are not breathing. Of course the very best indicator is to watch for Chest and/or abdominal rise in the victim. Next, align hands with fingers interlocked on victims sternum (breastbone) at the mid-nipple line. Just start continuous compressions at a rate of one hundred per minute. Push complete depth. The American Heart Association slogan is “Push hard, Push speedy”.
My greatest concern as a CPR instructor and skilled rescuer is most folks do not carry any protection such as a CPR barrier mask or gloves with them. This leaves the rescuer vulnerable and with two options. Neither selection is a very good notion. The 1st alternative (no mask) is not to execute mouth to mouth. Not a excellent option for the victim. Second option is to do mouth to mouth with out protection. Not a very good option for you.
The solution is carry a barrier mask, gloves and antimicrobial wipe. This combination keeps the rescuer safe and supplies the maximum advantage for the victim.
Wayne Bennett is a twenty five year fire captain in southern California. He is also the owner of Survival Skills & Co. a small business specializing in Disaster Response education for Schools and Enterprises. He has trained over 20,000 persons since 1991 how to save lives in his 1 day “Disaster Survival Abilities” workshops. His enterprise also provides realistic kits and supplies for disaster preparedness. www.newarkcprclasses.com delivers NIMS education, CPR & Initial Help classes.