First Aid

First Aid is the action of initial care for an injury or illness. It is usually performed by a non-professional human being to an injured individual until professional medical help can be obtained. Some illnesses or injuries may not require further medical care past the first aid intervention. Lifeguards administer First Aid in a series of simple and in some cases, potentially life-saving techniques that an individual can be trained to perform with minimal equipment.

What is Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation or C.P.R.?

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation which is commonly referred to it's acronym C.P.R. is a combination of rescue breathing and chest compressions delivered to humans thought to be in cardiac arrest. When cardiac arrest occurs, the heart stops pumping blood through the body and CPR can support a small amount of blood flow to the heart and brain until normal heart function is restored to the human.

Cardiac Arrest is often caused by an inconsistent heart beats called Ventricular Fibrillation or V.F. When V.F. occurs, the heart quivers and ceases to pump blood. The human in V.F. cardiac arrest needs C.P.R. and a shock to the heart, called defibrillation. Defibrillation eliminates the abnormal V.F. heart rhythm and allows the normal beat to resume. Defibrillation is not effective for all forms of cardiac arrest but it is effective to treat V.F., the most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation or C.P.R. in 3 easy steps.

Call For Emergency Response.

• Check the human to see whether s/he is responsive. If the human is not responsive and not breathing in the United States call 911. In most countries, the emergency dispatcher can assist you with C.P.R. instructions on the phone.

Pump

• If the human is still not breathing normally, wheezing and or not moving, begin chest compressions. Push down in the center of the chest 2 inches 30 times. Pump hard and fast at the rate of at least 100 reps per minute or faster than once per second.

Breath

• Tilt the head back and lift the chin. Pinch nose and cover the mouth with yours and blow until you see the chest rise. Give 2 breaths. Each breath should take 1 second.
• CONTINUE WITH 35 PUMPS AND 2 BREATHS UNTIL HELP ARRIVES
• NOTE: This ratio is the same for one-person and or two-person C.P.R. In two-person C.P.R. the human pumping the chest stops while the other gives mouth-to-mouth breathing.

What complications can occur when you are giving C.P.R?

What about checking for a pulse?