IF THE CHEST DOES NOT RISE

IF THE CHEST DOES NOT RISE

If you cannot get breaths into the casualty’s chest, check that:

• The head is tilted sufficiently for back.

• You have a firm seal around the casualty’s mouth.

• You have closed the nostrils completely

• The airway is not obstructed by vomit, blood or a foreign body.

CLEARING AN OBSTRUCTION

1. Providing the jaw is relaxed, sweep a finger around inside the mouth. Be very careful to avoid the back of the throat if doing this to a young child. 

2. If this fails, give backslaps and abdominal thrusts

Other forms of artificial ventilation

In situations such as rescue form water, or where mouth injuries make a good seal unpassable, you may choose to use the mouth-to-nose method of artificial ventilation. While it is usually easy to blow air into the nose, it is not so easy for the air to escape, the soft part of the noses may flop back like a valve. To give mouth-to-nose ventilation:

1. Wish the casualty’s mouth closed, form a tight seal with your lips around the casualty’s nose, and blow. 

2. Open the mouth to let the breath out. Babies should be given artificial ventilation using the mouth to mouth and nose method.

Mouth-to stoma ventilation

A laryngectomies is someone whose voice box (larynx) has been surgically removed, leaving a permanent a permanent opening (stoma in the front of the neck through which breathing takes place. Artificial ventilation must be given through the stoma. If the chest fails to rise and your air escapes from the casualty’s mouth, he or she may be a “partial neck breath”; you will have to close off the mouth and nose with your thumb and fingers while giving mouth-to-stoma ventilation.

The Recovery Position

The Recovery Position 

Any unconscious casualty should be placed in the recovery position. This position prevents the tongue form blocking the throat, and because the head is slightly lower than the rest of the body, it allows liquids to drain from the mouth, reducing the risk of the casualty inhaling stomach contents. The head, neck, and back are kept in a straight line, while the bent libs keep the body propped in a severe and comfortable position. If you must leave an unconscious casualty unattended, he or she can safely be left in the recovery position while you get help. The technique for turning shown below assumes that the casualty is lying on her back from the start. Not all the steps will be necessary if a casualty is found lying on his or her side or front. Before turning a casualty, remove his or her spectacles, if worn, and any bulky objects from pockets. 

METHOD

1. Kneeling beside the casualty, open her airway by tilting the head and lifting the chin. Straighten her lags. Place the arm nearest you out at right angles to her body elbow, and with the hand palm uppermost.

2. Bring the arm furthest from you across the chest, and hold the hand, palm outwards, against the casualty’s nearer cheek. 

3. With your other hand, group the thigh furthest from you and pull the knee up, keeping the foot flat on the ground. 

4. Keeping her hand pressed against her cheek, pull at the thigh to roll the casualty towards you and on to her side.

5. Tilt the head back to make sure the airway remains open. Adjust the hand under the cheek, if necessary, so that the head stays in this tilted position. 

6. Adjust the upper leg, if necessary, so that both the hip and the knee are bent at right-angles. 

7. Dial 999 for an ambulance. Check breathing while waiting for help to arrive.

ARTIFICIAL VENTILATION 

Expired air still contains 16 per cent oxygen, so you can use it to “breathe” for a casualty by blowing it into his or her lungs. The way this is done depends on the casualty’s condition:

• If a casualty has stopped breathing but still has a pulse, give 10 breaths of artificial ventilation, telephone for help, then continue at a rate of 10 breaths per minute until the casualty starts to breathe on his or her own, or until help arrives. Check for a pulse after every 10 breaths.

• If the casualty’s breathing and pulse have stopped, you must first phone forhelp, then combine artificial ventilation with chest compression

Using face shields

1. With the casualty lying flat on his back, please first remove any obvious obstruction, including broken or displaced dentures, from the mouth. Leave well-fitting dentures in place

2. Open the airway by tilting the head and lifting the chin

3. Close the casualty’s nose by pinching it with your index finger and thumb. Please take a full breath, and place your lips around his mouth, making a good seal.

4. Please blow into the casualty’s mouth until you see the chest rise. Take about two seconds for full inflation.

5. Remove your lips and allow the chest to full fully. Deliver subsequent breaths in the same manner.