Im sure all of you have heard of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, better known as CPR. Im going to go over the steps of infant, child, and adult CPR. If you dont know how to perform CPR, I hope this will give you a good understanding of it and if you already know how to perform CPR, I hope this will be a good refresher. I will begin with infant CPR. This would be used on a child who is less than one year old.
The first step is to determine if the infant is responsive. Shout and gently tap the child on the shoulder. If there is no response, position the infant on his or her back. The next step is to open the airway. This is done by placing the heel of one hand gently on the forehead and lifting the chin up with the other hand. After the head is positioned, check for any breathing.
If the infant is not breathing, cover the babys mouth and nose with your mouth and give two small gentle breaths. Each breath should be 1.5 to 2 seconds long. You should see the infants chest rise with each breath. After the first two breaths, check for a pulse.
On an infant, this can be most easily found near their armpit. If no pulse is found, chest compressions should be started. Position your index and middle fingers in the center of the chest an inch below the nipples. Give five gentle compressions, pressing down one-half to one inch, at the rate of 100 per minute.
Repeat with one breath and five compressions. After one minute of repeated cycles, call 911 and then return to the victim. If you feel a pulse return, discontinue chest compressions and give one breath every three seconds. Next I will discuss adult CPR. First you should check for responsiveness. If there is no response, their airway should be opened.
You should then look, listen, and feel for any breathing. If there is no breath, pinch the nose closed, cover the mouth with yours and blow until you see the chest rise. After the first initial breath, call 911 and then return to the victim. Check the victim for a pulse.
On an adult, the pulse can be found be placing your index and middle fingers in the center of their neck and then sliding them down around the side. If there is no pulse give two breaths, each taking two seconds and give fifteen chest compressions. Compressions should be given using the heel of one hand and the other hand on top of the first hand. Push down on the chest one and one-half to two inches, right between the nipples, at the rate of 100 times per minute. Continue with two breaths and fifteen compressions until help arrives or you are no longer able to continue. CPR for children is similar to adult CPR.
This CPR would be used on a child between the ages of one and eight. There are, however, four differences. The first difference is that if you are alone with the child, give one minute of CPR before calling 911. Instead of using both hands, use only the heel of one hand. The sternum should be pressed down only one to one and one-half inches instead of the one and one-half to two inches used for an adult.
The final difference is the ratio of breaths to compressions. In a child, one full breath should be given followed by five chest compressions. Although it may all seem hard to remember, the ABCs of CPR have helped many people. The A meaning airway, which needs to be opened and cleared of any debris.
The 2 stands for breath. You need to check to see if they are breathing and give a breath if they are not. The C is short for circulation. You need to check for a pulse to determine if chest compressions are needed. If someone is not breathing, but has a pulse, only breaths need to be given.
While some of the steps differ between infant, child, and adult CPR, the ABCs should help you recall the steps needed. I hope I have given you a better understanding of how to administer CPR. Attending a class where true-to-life dolls can be practiced on is the best way to learn. CPR is a good resource to have that you hopefully never have to use.
