Knowing how to conduct CPR is perhaps the most important first-aid skill you can know. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation can be the sole difference between life & death. Through rescue breaths & chest compressions, you can restart a heart that’s stopped ticking. A stopped heart means an absence of breath, and in this time, every second counts. So, would you like to save a life?
Looking at How to Conduct CPR
Often, people fail to step in when they come across a lifeless man on the streets. I understand that mouth-to-mouth resuscitation can be difficult given that you barely know this stranger, but I strongly believe that this shouldn’t matter at such a crucial moment. Even if you can’t perform a full CPR, chest compression & airway opening can do the trick. But if they don’t, you may have no choice but to give a full Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation…
By the way, before you start, you should call for professional help or ask someone to do so.
Steps for Conducting a CPR
Confirm that the person is distressed & in need of assistance. A person who collapses does not necessarily need CPR.
Confirm if the person is still breathing. This is done either by checking their pulse through their wrists or putting your ear close to their nose or mouth to observe. If there is any activity that indicates breathing, do not proceed. But if they are not, then…
Gently lay the person on their back. Some persons may be may not after falling, most likely because they’ve suffered serious injuries. Regardless, they have to be lying flat on their back before CPR can be performed. Move them to a flat area.
Puff the airway by tilting the person’s head back. In some cases, this is enough for them to regain their breath, but if it isn’t…
Get in position for CPR. Kneel by the person’s right side & position your palm above their heart, ensuring that heels or your hands are pressing against the center of their chest. Put your strong hand on top of the weak & interlock the fingers, ensure that your arms are kept straight and that your knuckles or fingers aren’t digging into their chest.
Start Chest Compressions
Still in position, press down on the person’s chest and release to see the chest puff back up. Repeat this process quickly 30 times. If you are not willing to offer rescue breaths, you’ll have to repeat the compressions. If you’re comfortable with mouth-to-mouth, then…
Reopen The Airway
As you did then, tilt their head back, lift their chin & let their mouth open wide.
Give Rescue Breaths
Hold the person’s chin in position & pinch their nostrils tightly shut. Breathe in and breathe out into the person’s mouth. If their chest rises & remains, good job, but if it falls back, you’ll have to repeat the breath.
Repeat Chest Compressions Again
If they still do not come to life after two breaths, perform another set of 30 chest compressions & 2 more breaths. Whatever the outcome is, help should have arrived at this time.
Conclusion on How to Conduct CPR
It is easy to find yourself in a situation that requires CPR, especially if you’re an outdoor person (which all preppers are anyway). Your CPR expertise can help in case of a disaster that has made medical help unavailable or when you’re out on the trails and come across a man struggling to breathe. It could even happen at your place of work. Knowing how to conduct CPR expertly will come in handy in emergencies.
