You do not require a doctorate degree to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CRP). This can save the life of a person who experiences cardiac arrest because it doubles the chance that the person will remain alive until medical aid arrives. Everyone should know how to perform CPR correctly because in the event of cardiac arrest, you have very little time to perform CPR. You will not have time to learn CPR on the spot, therefore it is encouraged to participate in a first aid CPR course. Resuscitation must be performed while waiting for the ambulance. Therefore, you must be prepared for any unexpected medical situation. This article will inform you how to perform CPR correctly.
Know if the patient needs CPR
Before performing CPR, you have to take a few seconds to determine whether your patient needs CPR or not. When you find a person unconscious, immediately call the ambulance and, without wasting any time, start examining the patient to determine whether they are breathing or not. Shake the patient from the shoulders to check if the patient reacts or regains consciousness. Do not waste more than 5 seconds to try to wake up the patient. Lay the patient straight and check if they are breathing by tilting the patient’s head back. Check if they are breathing for 8 seconds. See if they have a pulse and if they do not you can start performing CPR.
The correct way to perform CPR
If your patient is not breathing, do not hesitate to perform CPR to resuscitate the patient. The following are the CPR steps, which you have to perform if you are going to save someone’s life.
Chest compressions
The first step is to push the chest, but before performing this step, make sure the patient is laying on their back straight on a firm surface. The mistake people make while performing this step is they do not know the right position and the angle of their hand. To perform this step properly, you have to place the heel of your hand on the centre of the patient’s chest. After that, put the second hand on the first-hand and interlock the fingers together. In this way, the rib cage of the patient will be protected. Keep your arms straight, bend your knees and lean forwards to press down on the chest of the patient. Make sure you press it down about two inches and then release the pressure and wait till the chest comes back. Repeat the compressions twice a second and do this step hard and fast. Take a normal breath in the mouth of the patient until the chest of the patient rises. After the breath, look at the chest fall and repeat this step five to six times. Repeat the chest compressions and breathing one after another. Follow the cycle of 30 chest compressions and two breaths. Keep repeating the process until professional aid or the ambulance arrives or if the person starts showing the signs of consciousness. This includes breathing, coughing, or opening their eyes.
Breathing
After repeating the chest compressions 30 times give a rescue breath. Before this, open the airway by lifting the chin up so the mouth is slightly open. After that pinch the nose of the patient with one hand and use another hand to lift the chin.
First aid training should be given to students at school and colleges, as well as employers and employees in the workplace. This is so they can perform first aid properly in the event of an emergency or accident because nobody knows when they will face an emergency.
