CARDIAC PULMONARY RESUSCITATION (CPR) AND MOUTH-TO-MOUTH BREATHING
Timely help can save a life. You must practise the
technique of mouth-to-mouth breathing in advance.
Have someone call for an ambulance or a doctor, while
you start on the procedures.
Check For Breathing, Not Pulse
Look for movement and any sign of breathing, including coughing. If these are absent, call for an ambulance and
start chest compressions.
Positioning Hands
Compressing and releasing the chest (see
steps 5 and 6) helps force blood out of the heart and into the rest of the
circulatory system. Simply place your hands between the victim’s
nipples to locate the sternum. For children over age 8, perform 15 compressions before giving 2 rescue breaths.
Mouth-to-Mouth Breathing
Mouth-to-mouth breathing, in which you exhale into the victim’s mouth, remains an essential part of CPR. But
if you are unable or unwilling to give the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, chest compressions alone should increase
the victim’s chance of survival, especially if medical
help is imminent.
Steps To Be followed If The Child Stops Breathing
Step 1: Shout
for help to get an extra hand and to summon a doctor.
Step 2: In
the case of a child, clear the mouth. Check if anything is stuck in the mouth or throat. Pull the
tongue forward. Remove any foreign object or food that can be removed easily with your fingers. If removal seems
difficult, follow the section on choking.
Step 3: Let
the child lie on his back on the ground or any other firm surface like a strong table. Tilt his head
back so that the tip of his nose faces the roof or sky. Open his mouth wide.
Step 4: If
he is still not breathing, start mouth-to-mouth breathing. For this, take a deep breath. For an infant,
place your mouth over his mouth as well as the nose, closing
your mouth firmly over them so that no air leaks. Then, blow gently to make sure that his chest rises a little. Do
not blow with too much force in an infant, because you may rupture his lungs.
In case of an older child, pinch his nostrils with one
hand and place your mouth only on his mouth. Breathe into the child’s mouth forcefully to ensure some lifting of his
chest. Give 2 such breaths.
If the chest is not moving, follow Step 2 again.
If the chest rises with mouth-to-mouth breathing, remove your mouth from his mouth and after every breath, take a
deep breath and breathe again into his mouth at a rate
of about 20 breaths per minute until he starts breathing on his own or until you are sure that he is dead. This effort
may be needed for about an hour.
Step 5: Sometimes,
the heart also stops beating in such a situation. After the first two breaths, check the pulse.
In small infants, put 2 fingers gently to feel for the pulse in
front of the elbow. In older children, feel for the pulsation in the
neck a little away from the windpipe at the level of the Adam’s
apple.
If you cannot feel the pulse, you must begin cardiac
(heart) massage by pressing on the breastbone lying in the middle of the chest.
Step 6: If
you have help, one of you should do the cardiac massage while the other does mouth-to-mouth breathing.
In case of an infant, press on the breastbone with 3
fingers, placed a little below the level of the nipple. Press the
bone about an inch at a rate of about 100 per minute (see
illustration).
If you are alone, give one breath for every five compressions (or massage).
For an older child, you may need to apply more pressure, using the heel of the hand. For an adolescent, you may
also need to place the heel of one hand on top of the other
hand and then press down about one and half inches (see
illustration).
Continue this exercise until you can feel the pulse or
until you are sure that the person is dead. It is worth trying
this for half an hour to one hour before you give up.
Mouth-to-Mouth Breathing And Drowning
If the child is not breathing on his own, follow the
same procedure as given above, under mouth-to-mouth
breathing.
Do not waste precious time trying to get water out of
his chest. In fact, the person trying to rescue the child is
advised to start mouth-to-mouth breathing, as soon as he reaches waters shallow enough to stand in (see
illustration).
