A lesson in saving a life
Imagine this scenario: You and your friends are cruising along a canyon roadway on your way to enjoy a day hiking in the mountains. The sun is shining and the world couldn’t be more perfect, that is, until you round the next corner.
In front of you, an accident has blocked the road. A man on a motorcycle has collided with a sport utility vehicle and he is lying unconscious in the road, and he needs medical attention. There are no emergency personnel in sight, and you are the first ones on the scene. What do you do?
Hopefully you will never have to know what you would do in such a horrifying situation, but life-or-death circumstances occur every minute, and presence of mind and emergency assistance knowledge can save someone’s life. CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is the most effective technique to prolonging a person’s life while waiting for trained responders to get on the scene.
A stopped heart deprives the brain of oxygen. Within two minutes of oxygen depletion, a person can sustain enough brain damage that the body cannot recover. CPR is a means to jumpstart the heart and gets oxygen flowing throughout the body.
It is okay to be nervous about learning this technique because medical training is very serious, but the only thing more frightening than learning CPR is being in a situation where you need it, but don’t know how to perform it.
Step one: Before any physical assistance is given to another person, make sure that someone has called 911 to get trained professionals on the scene of the accident as soon as possible.
Step two: Make sure that the person is in need of CPR before you attempt to perform it.
- Remember the ABCs: airway, breathing and circulation
- Tilt the person’s head back by lifting the chin. If the person’s airway is obstructed, then this will allow air to enter through the nose and CPR won’t be required.
- Check to see if the person’s chest is rising. If they are breathing, then they are unconscious and do not need CPR.
- Find the person’s pulse either at the wrist or at the side of the neck. If you find a pulse, that person does not need CPR and probably has an obstructed airway.
Step three: If you find that the person’s heart and breathing has stopped, they will need CPR. Make sure the person is lying flat on their back and take care not to move the head or neck too much in case of spinal and head trauma.
Step four: Pinch the nose shut, lift the chin to keep the airway open, and give two long breaths into the person’s mouth. Remember to maintain a seal between your mouth and theirs so no air escapes.
Step five: Check again for a pulse and for breathing. If the person has a pulse but is not breathing, continue to administer rescue breathing. If there is no pulse, then you must begin heart resuscitation.
Step six: Locate the bottom of the person’s sternum — the breastbone — and measure two finger widths to the head. Interlace the fingers of both your hands over this spot and compress down on the chest 15 times. Use the weight of your upper body on the compressions and try to keep your arms taunt.
Step seven: After the 15 compressions, administer two more breaths. Continue the cycle of breaths and compressions four times and then check for a pulse.
Remember that CPR is a race against the clock and that the person’s greatest need is oxygen. In most cases, CPR is not effective past four minutes of heart failure, so work quickly and tirelessly until 911 responders arrive to take over. If all goes well, you will never have to perform CPR, but if things don’t go well, you now have the knowledge that can save someone’s life.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Cassie Hewlings at Cassie.Hewlings@thecampuspress.com
