Rescue breathing for adults and children

When a person is not breathing the body suffers from shortage of oxygen, and if no action is taken this will eventually lead to death. The air that a healthy adult breathes out contains a valuable amount of oxygen, which can be shared with a person who is not breathing to help restore his or her oxygen levels . This process is often called mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or artificial respiration; the actual breaths are called rescue breaths.

RESCUE BREATHING. Rescue breathing is provided to a person who is not breathing. When an adult is not breathing, the cause is very likely to be a problem with the  heart. It is therefore essential that as soon as you realize that an adult is not breathing, you make sure that an ambulance has been called. If you have a face shield or mask and know how to use it, this can be valuable, but do not waste time looking for one.

     In the case of face injury or if a person has been poisoned, provide mouth-to-nose rescue breathing. Lift the chin, tilt the head, seal the mouth, and breath into the nose, removing your mouth to let air escape.

1. Place the victim on her back. Open the airway by tilting the head and lifting the chin with two fingers.
2. Pinch the soft part of the nose closed with the finger and thumb of the hand that was on the forehead. Open the mouth.
3. Take a deep breath to fill your lungs with air and place your lips around the victim's mouth, making sure you have a good seal.
4. Blow steadily into the mouth and watch the chest rise. Maintaining  head tilt and chin lift, take your mouth away and watch the chest fall.

An effective breath is one whether you see the chest rise and fall. Your goal is to give 2 effective breaths. Try up to 5 attempts to give 2 effective breaths.

CHECKING FOR CIRCULATION. After giving 2 effective breaths, the next step in the  ABC of first aid is to check that the oxygen is being circulated  through the body. Look, listen and feel for breathing , coughing, movement, normal color or any other sign of life for not more than 10 seconds. If there are clear signs of circulation, then continue to give rescue breaths at a rate of 1 every 6 seconds until help arrives or the person begins to breathe for himself. Continue to check for signs of circulation throughout.

     If there are no signs of circulation,you will nee to move to giving the casualty full CPR-- combining rescue breaths with chest compressions.

WHAT TO DO IF THE CHEST DOES NOT RISE

• Check for any obvious obstruction around the neck or on the chest which may be preventing the breath from going in.
• Re-open the airway. Tilt the head, look for and remove any obvious obstruction, and lift the chin.
• Re-seal the nose and mouth and breath in again.
• Try up to 5 more attempts to give 2 effective breaths.

If the chest still does not rise, it is likely that the airway is blocked either by an object such as food or vomit or because the air passages have swollen up due to a condition such as anaphylaxis. In these circumstances, the best treatment  is to move  straight to CPR, checking  for circulation and combining further  attempts at rescue breath with chest compressions.

RESCUE BREATHING FOR CHILDREN AND BABIES
If a child lost consciousness and is not breathing, you will need to provide rescue breathing in order to prevent brain damage and heart failure. When the child is not breathing, the cause is very likely to be a problem with the intake of oxygen, for example, through drowning, an accident, or through choking. The priority, therefore, is to provide oxygen. If you are by yourself and an ambulance has not yet been called, do not leave to call an ambulance until you have given a minute's worth of rescue breathing (or if the circulation has also stopped, a minute's worth of CPR, where rescue breathing is combined with chest compressions).

RESCUE BREATHING FOR A CHILD

1. Place the child on his back. Open the airway by tilting the head and lifting the chin up with your fingers.
2. Pinch the soft part of the nose closed with the finger and thumb of the hand that was on the forehead, Open the mouth.
3. Take a deep breath to fill your lungs with air and place your lips around the child's mouth, making sure you have a good seal.
4. Blow into the mouth and watch the chest rise. Maintaining head tilt and chin lift, remove your mouth and watch the chest fall.

RESCUE BREATHING FOR A BABY

1. Open the airway by lifting the chin. Use minimum head tilt.
2. You may find it easier to seal your mouth over the baby's mouth and nose rather than trying to pinch the nose separately. Open the infant's mouth. Empty your cheeks of air rather than blowing hard into the mouth. Watch the chest rise.
3. Keeping the baby's chin lifted, take your mouth away and watch the chest fall.

An effective breath is one where you see the chest rise and fall, and your aim is to give 2 effective breaths. Try up to 5 attempts to give 2 effective breaths.

WHAT TO DO IF THE CHEST DOES NOT RISE

• Check for any obvious obstruction around the neck or on the chest which may be preventing the breath from going in.
• Re-open the airway. Tilt the head, look for and remove any obvious obstructions and lift the chin.
• Re-seal the nose and mouth and breath in again.
• Try up to 5 attempts to give 2 effective breaths.

If the chest still does not rise, it is likely that the airway is blocked either by an object such as food or vomit, or because the air passages have swollen up due to a condition such as anaphylaxis. In these circumstances, the beast treatment is to move straight to CPR-- combining further attempts at rescue breathing with chest compressions.

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Frederick Luneta is a 24-year old guy and he is a Computer Engineering student and a young part time blogger. Currently lives in the Philippines. He knows a lot about computer.