Sometimes, even though people recognize that In fact, you may be the only one on the scene who an emergency has occurred, they fail to act.
People react differently in emergencies. Some people Blood, vomit, bad odors, deformed body parts, or torn are afraid of doing the wrong thing and making matters or burned skin can be very upsetting. You may have to worse. Sometimes people simply panic. If help you to avoid panic and be able to provide the right you still are unable to give care, you can help in other care.
If you are not sure what to do, call or the ways, such as volunteering to call or the local local emergency number and follow the instructions of emergency number. The worst thing to do is nothing. For more information on disease family member or a friend than to someone you do not transmission, see the Disease Transmission section know.
However, you may be faced with an emergency in this chapter. In fact, lawsuits against people who give medical help to the scene. Becoming person were in the same situation. Once EMS personnel are on the way, the call taker may stay on the line and continue to talk with you. If you are prepared for unforeseen emergencies, you can Being Unsure When to Call help to ensure that care begins as soon as possible for yourself, your family and your fellow citizens.
Often, it makes the difference between complete Your decision to act in an emergency should be recovery and permanent disability. By knowing what guided by your own values and by your knowledge of to do and acting on that knowledge, you can make the risks that may be present.
However, even if you a difference. Therefore, before or cuts in your skin or through the lining of your mouth, giving care to an injured or ill person, you must obtain nose or eyes. Some diseases, such as the common cold, are transmitted To get permission from a conscious person, you must by droplets in the air we breathe. You droplets. Fortunately, exposure to these germs usually is also must ask if you may give care.
When a conscious not adequate for diseases to be transmitted. Do not touch or give care to some diseases through bites. Contracting a disease from a conscious person who refuses it. Some diseases are spread more easily than others. This includes people who are unconscious temporary and usually not serious for healthy adults. Although If the conscious person is a child or an infant, serious, they are not easily transmitted and are not permission to give care must be obtained from a parent spread by casual contact, such as shaking hands.
If the parent or guardian is present but does not give consent, do not give care. Instead, call or the local Preventing Disease Transmission emergency number. PPE , such as disposable gloves, cover any of your Viruses depend on other organisms to live. Once in own cuts, scrapes or sores with a bandage.
Find your family in a handy place, such as on out if your area uses this number. Keep medical and insurance emergencies! So, please use good judgment. A well-stocked first aid kit condition, such as epilepsy, diabetes, heart is a handy thing to have.
Carry a first aid kit with disease or allergies. Numerals are easier to read than for any place where you spend a lot of time.
First aid kits come in many shapes and sizes. Emergency Telephone Numbers You can purchase one from redcross. You also first aid kit. Include home and work numbers of may make your own.
Some kits are designed family members and friends. Be sure to keep for specific activities, such as hiking, camping both lists current.
Include any personal items such with the auto-dial feature turned on, turn as medications and emergency phone numbers off the feature. Check the kit regularly. Check expiration dates key is pressed. Unintentional calls, and replace any used or out-of-date contents. This action prevents automatic 5 x 9 inches calls to If your community does not operate on a system, look up the numbers for the police, fire department and EMS personnel.
Emergency numbers usually are listed in the front of the telephone book. Know the number for the National Poison Control Center Hotline, , and post it on or near your telephones. Teach everyone in your home how and when to use these numbers. Use tongs, a broom and CPR breathing barriers, eye protection and other dustpan or two pieces of cardboard to scoop supplies. Keep alcohol-based hand sanitizers out of reach of children. The virus can grow quietly for months or even years.
The virus cannot enter through the skin unless there People infected with HIV might not feel or look sick. Even then, the possibility Eventually, the weakened immune system allows of infection is very low unless there is direct contact certain types of infections to develop.
This condition for a lengthy period of time. Saliva is not known to is known as AIDS. Because currently there is no vaccine The likelihood of HIV transmission during a first against HIV, prevention still is the best tool.
Always give care in ways that protect you and the person from disease The two most likely ways for HIV to be transmitted transmission. Tests are readily correct entry site. This type of transmission could happen If you have any questions about AIDS, call the if a person touches an object that contains Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC , the blood or other body fluids of an infected 24 hours a day, for information in English and Spanish person, and that infected blood or other body at TTY service is available at fluid enters the body through a correct entry You also can visit www.
For example, HIV could be transmitted if or call your local or state health department. CHECK the scene and the person.
CALL or the local emergency number. CARE for the person. Once they make the scene safe, you can offer to help. Is Immediate Danger Involved?
If you must move the person, do it as quickly and carefully as possible. If there is no danger, tell the person not to move. Tell any bystanders not to move the person. What Happened? Look for clues to what caused the emergency and how the person might be injured.
Nearby objects, such as a fallen ladder, broken glass or a spilled bottle of medicine, may give you information. Your check of the scene may be the only FIGURE Check the scene for anything that may threaten the safety of you, the injured way to tell what happened. How Many People Are Involved? Look carefully for more than one person. If one person is bleeding or Is It Safe? Check for anything unsafe, such as spilled chemicals, It also is easy to overlook a small child or an infant.
Such areas should be entered by You already have learned that the presence of responders who have special training and equipment, bystanders does not mean that a person is receiving such as respirators and self-contained breathing help. You may have to ask them to help. Bystanders apparatus. If a family member, If these or other dangers threaten, stay at a safe friend or co-worker is present, he or she may know if the distance and call or the local emergency number person is ill or has a medical condition.
If the scene still is unsafe after you call, do not enter. Dead or injured heroes are no help to The injured or ill person may be too upset to answer anyone! Leave dangerous situations to professionals like your questions. Bystanders can While you are checking the person, use your senses of help to comfort the person and others at the scene. They will help you to notice A child may be especially frightened.
Parents or anything abnormal. For example, you may notice an guardians who are present may be able to calm a unusual smell that could be caused by a poison. You frightened child. They also can tell you if a child has may see a bruise or a twisted arm or leg.
You may hear a medical condition. What Is Wrong? Look for signals that may indicate a Keep in mind that it is often helpful to take a slightly life-threatening emergency. First, check to see if the different approach when you check and care for injured or ill person is conscious Fig.
Sometimes children, infants and elderly people in an emergency this is obvious. The person may be able to speak to you. For more information on checking and caring He or she may be moaning, crying, making some other for children, infants, the elderly and others with special noise or moving around. If the person is conscious, needs, see Chapter 9. Identifying Life-Threatening Conditions If the person is lying on the ground, silent and not moving, he or she may be unconscious.
If you are not At times you may be unsure if advanced medical sure whether someone is unconscious, tap him or her personnel are needed. Use the help you to make this decision. Speak loudly. You will have to use your best judgment— Unconsciousness is a life-threatening emergency. Make sure that someone other training you may have received—to make the calls or the local emergency number right away.
When in doubt, and you think a life-threatening condition is present, make the call. When using Calling or the local emergency number for help an AED, a child is considered to be someone between the often is the most important action you can take to ages of 1 and 8 years or weighing less than 55 pounds. It will send emergency medical help on its way as fast as possible.
Look for other signals of life-threatening injuries Make the call quickly and return to the person. If including trouble breathing, the absence of breathing or possible, ask someone else to make the call. After making the call, immediately go back to the injured or ill person. Check the person for life-threatening conditions and give the necessary care see Checking a Conscious and Unconscious Person section in this chapter.
An injury may restrict movement, or the person may become groggy or faint. Moving an injured suddenly collapse. Generally, you should not heart problems. When you have to get to another person who may Call First situations are likely to be cardiac emergencies, have a more serious problem.
In this case, you where time is a critical factor. In Care First situations, the may have to move a person with minor injuries to conditions often are related to breathing emergencies. When it is necessary to give proper care. If the The most basic emergency move is the walking assist. In this way, your body acts as a crutch, must quickly decide how to do so.
Move an injured A second responder, if present, can support the person or ill person only when it is safe for you to do so and in the same way on the other side Fig. Do not there is an immediate life threat. Base your decision use this assist if you suspect that the person has a head, on the dangers you are facing, the size and condition of neck or spinal injury.
Two-Person Seat Carry The two-person seat carry requires a second responder. To improve your chances of successfully moving an injured This carry can be used for any person who is conscious or ill person without injuring yourself or the person: and not seriously injured. Responders should coordinate their looking where you are going. Types of Emergency Moves You can move a person to safety in many different ways, but no single way is best for every situation.
The objective Pack-Strap Carry is to move the person without injuring yourself or causing The pack-strap carry can be used with conscious and further injury to the person. The following common types unconscious persons. Using it with an unconscious of emergency moves can all be done by one or two people person requires a second responder to help position and with minimal to no equipment. B, Two responders may be needed for the walking assist.
Be aware that this move is exhausting and may cause back strain for the responder, even when done properly. Blanket Drag The blanket drag can be used to move a person in an emergency situation when equipment is limited.
Keep the person between you and the blanket. Roll the person as a unit toward you. Reach over and place the blanket so that it is positioned under the person, FIGURE The two-person seat carry then roll the person onto the blanket. Gather the blanket at the head and move the person Fig. Ankle Drag Use the ankle drag also known as the foot drag to move a person who is too large to carry or move in any other way. Lean forward slightly and pull the person up and onto your back.
Stand up and walk to safety Fig. Depending on the size of the person, you may be able to hold both of his or her wrists with one hand, leaving your other hand free to help maintain balance, open doors and remove obstructions.
Do not use this assist if you suspect that the person has a head, neck or spinal injury. If the water is safe and shallow enough not over your chest , you can wade in to reach the person. If there is a current or the bottom is soft or unknown, making it dangerous to wade, do not go in the water. If possible, wear a life jacket and take something with you to extend your reach, such as a ring buoy, buoyant cushion, kickboard, life jacket, tree branch, pole, air mattress, plastic cooler, picnic jug, paddle or water exercise belt.
You can help a person in trouble in the water from a safe Conducting Interviews position by using reaching assists, throwing assists or Ask the person and bystanders simple questions to learn wading assists. Keep these interviews brief When possible, start by talking to the person. Let the Fig. This will make him or her feel more communication.
Direct the person what to do, such as comfortable. Firmly brace yourself on a pool deck, pier or shoreline and reach out to the person with any object that will extend your reach, such as a pole, oar or paddle, tree branch, shirt, belt or towel. If no equipment is available, you can still perform a reaching assist by lying down and extending your arm or leg for the person to grab.
Once the person grasps the object, pull the individual to safety. Descriptions often discomfort, or if you suspect a head, neck or include terms such as burning, crushing, throbbing, spinal injury. Ask the ears, mouth and nose. Think 1 being mild and 10 being severe. If you are unsure if a Sometimes an injured or ill person will not be able to give body part or limb looks injured, check it against the you the information that you need.
The person may not opposite limb or the other side of the body. Notice if the be able to speak because of a medical condition.
Known person is drowsy, confused or is not alert. A healthy was surgically removed breathes through a permanent person breathes easily, quietly, regularly and without opening, or stoma, in the neck and may not be able to discomfort or pain. Young children and infants generally speak. Remember to question family members, friends breathe faster than adults.
Breathing that is not normal or bystanders as well. They may be able to give you includes noisy breathing, such as gasping for air; helpful information or help you to communicate with rasping, gurgling or whistling sounds; breathing that is the person. You will learn more about communicating unusually fast or slow; and breathing that is painful. Skin can provide Children or infants may be frightened.
They may be fully clues that a person is injured or ill. Approach slowly and gently, and give Fig. Note if it is red, pale or ashen. Get down to or below the hurt. Ask the person to gently move his or her head from side to side. Check the shoulders by Write down the information you learn during the asking the person to shrug them. Check the chest and interviews or, preferably, have someone else write it down abdomen by asking the person to take a deep breath.
It may help them to determine the type arms; and then the toes, legs and hips in the same way. A tag will provide medical information about Visually check from head to toe. Courtesy of the Canadian determine its temperature. Red Cross. For example, a person When someone is injured or becomes suddenly ill, with diabetes may have some form of medical ID tag, these normal body functions may be interrupted. In bracelet or necklace identifying this condition. With If a child or an infant becomes extremely upset, conduct more severe injuries or illnesses, however, the body may a toe-to-head check of the child or infant.
This will be less be unable to adjust. When the body is unable to meet emotionally threatening. Parents or guardians who are its demand for oxygen because blood fails to circulate present may be able to calm a frightened child. In fact, adequately, shock occurs. Parents also can tell you if a child has a medical condition. This often is the most comfortable position. Helping the person rest in a more comfortable position may lessen any pain. If the person is cool, try to cover him or her to avoid chilling.
Do not wait or her back, the tongue may fall to the back of the for signals of shock to develop before caring for the throat and block the airway. To open an unconscious underlying injury or illness. If the person does not respond, call or the local emergency number and check for other life-threatening conditions.
Consciousness, effective normal breathing and circulation and skin characteristics sometimes are referred to as signs of life. Airway Once you or someone else has called or the local emergency number, check to see if the person has an open airway and is breathing.
An open airway allows air to enter the lungs for the person to breathe. Agonal breaths do not occur toward the chest nor extended backward. If an adult is not breathing normally, this person most likely needs immediate CPR. A person whose larynx was If a child or an infant is not breathing, give 2 rescue removed may breathe partially or entirely through a breaths.
Tilt the head back and lift chin up. Pinch the stoma instead of through the mouth Fig. Give a person breathes. This will help you give proper care. If you witness the sudden collapse of a child, Breathing assume a cardiac emergency.
Do not give 2 rescue After opening the airway, quickly check an unconscious breaths. CPR needs to be started immediately, just as person for breathing. Position yourself so that you can with an adult.
If the person needs CPR, chest This may prevent the chest from rising when you compressions must not be delayed. You will learn how to recognize an obstructed airway and give care to the Normal breathing is regular, quiet and effortless. A person does not appear to be working hard or struggling when breathing normally. This means that the person is not making noise when breathing, breaths Circulation are not fast although it should be noted that normal It is important to recognize breathing emergencies breathing rates in children and infants are faster than in children and infants and to act before the heart normal breathing rates in adults and breathing does stops beating.
In an unconscious adult because of disease. Care for the person as if a breathing emergency. Courtesy of the International Association of Laryngectomees.
B, For an infant, cover the mouth and nose. Bleeding usually looks worse than it is. You might not feel comfortable with giving rescue A small amount of blood on a slick surface or mixed breaths, especially to someone whom you do not know. Disease transmission is an understandable worry, even It is not always easy to recognize severe bleeding. If the person Fig. These devices high arm in endangered spine H. Placing an Unconscious Person in a Recovery person exhales. Some devices are small enough to Position is discussed in this chapter.
You will learn how to perform CPR available, or when one becomes available. However, you in Chapter 2. Even when you are giving rescue breaths to use one. Always wipe the mouth clean Fig. If possible, use use the appropriate equipment for the size of the injured a protective barrier, such as disposable gloves, or ill person.
If you are unable to make you may encounter certain special situations. Pause between airway. Also, wipe away any secretions breaths long enough for the air in the person to or blockages. When an the chest or extend backward as you look, unconscious person vomits, the contents of listen and feel for normal breathing with the stomach can get into the lungs and block your ear over the stoma. To give rescue breathing. Air in the stomach also makes it breaths, make an airtight seal with your lips harder for the diaphragm— the large muscle around the stoma or tracheostomy tube and that controls breathing—to move.
For an adult, give 2 rescue successful if you see the chest rise and fall and you breaths as you would for a child or an infant once you hear and feel air escape from the stoma.
If this for an unconscious person who has been submerged. If the person breather. In order to give rescue breaths to a partial is not breathing, you will have to give proper care. Generally, that person should of giving mouth-to-stoma rescue breaths. An not be moved from a face-up position, especially if alternative method is to use a barrier device see there is a suspected spinal injury.
However, there are Using CPR Breathing Barriers section in this a few situations when you should move a person into chapter. For a neck breather or partial neck a recovery position whether or not a spinal injury is breather, a round pediatric mask may provide a suspected. Examples include situations where you better seal around a stoma or tracheostomy tube are alone and have to leave the person e.
If you airway open and clear. If a child is strapped into a car recovery position: seat, do not remove him or her from it. Do not lift or push the head or neck. B, Placing a person in a modified H. S if you must leave to call After responding to an emergency involving a serious An infant can be placed in a recovery position as would injury, illness or death, it is not unusual to experience be done for an older child.
You can also hold an infant in acute stress. This feeling is known forearm. If not appropriately managed, this acute stress may lead to a serious condition called post-traumatic stress disorder. Signals of Incident Stress Reactions Some effects may appear right away whereas others may take longer to develop.
Incident Stress Remember that you have a vital role to play in the EMS Incident stress may require professional help to system. This includes following the emergency action prevent post-traumatic stress from developing. Be prepared, respond diet, avoiding alcohol and drugs, getting enough immediately and make a difference. Carefully pull the glove off so that it is inside out. Slip two fingers under the glove at the wrist of the remaining gloved hand. If the person responds, obtain consent and CALL or the local emergency number for any life-threatening conditions.
CHECK the person from head to toe and ask questions to find out what happened. Get consent from a parent or guardian, if present. CHECK the child from head to toe and ask questions to find out what happened. Monitor breathing and for any changes in condition. Heart attack and cardiac arrest are major causes of illness and death in the United States. Every day in U. Recognizing the signals of a heart attack and cardiac arrest, calling or the local emergency number and giving immediate care in a cardiac emergency saves lives.
This chapter also discusses how to care for a person having a heart attack and how to perform CPR for a person in cardiac arrest. In addition, this chapter covers the important links in the Cardiac Chain of Survival. Although cardiac emergencies occur more commonly in adults, they also occur in infants and children.
This chapter discusses the causes of cardiac arrest and how to provide care for all age groups. It beats more than 3 billion times in an average lifetime. It pumps blood throughout the body. The ribs, breastbone and spine protect it from injury. The heart is separated into right and left halves Fig. Arteries of the heart Blood that contains little or no oxygen enters the right side of the heart and is pumped to the lungs. The blood picks up oxygen in the lungs when you breathe.
Cardiovascular disease is an abnormal condition that affects the heart and blood vessels. An estimated 80 million Americans suffer from some form of the disease. It remains the number one killer in the United States Unblocked Partially Completely blocked blocked and is a major cause of disability.
The most common conditions caused by cardiovascular disease include FIGURE Build-up of fatty materials on the inner walls of the arteries reduces blood flow to the heart muscle and may cause a heart attack. Coronary heart disease occurs when the arteries that build-up worsens, the arteries become narrower. This supply blood to the heart muscle harden and narrow.
The damage occurs them and prevents the heart from getting the blood and gradually, as cholesterol and fatty deposits called plaque oxygen it needs. If the heart does not get blood containing build up on the inner artery walls Fig. As this oxygen, it will not work properly. Coronary heart disease accounts for about half of the greater than , adults who die each year from cardiovascular disease. When the heart is working normally, it beats evenly and easily, with a steady rhythm.
When damage to the heart causes it to stop working effectively, a person can experience a heart attack or other damage to the heart muscle. A heart attack can cause the heart to Left Atrium beat in an irregular way.
This may prevent blood from circulating effectively. Right Atrium When the heart does not work properly, normal Left Ventricle breathing can be disrupted or stopped. A heart attack Right Ventricle also can cause the heart to stop beating entirely. This condition is called cardiac arrest. The number one cause of heart attack and cardiac arrest in adults is coronary heart disease. The blood picks up experience chest pain. The oxygen-rich blood is caused by coronary heart disease. When the blood and then goes to the left side of the heart and is pumped to all parts oxygen supply to the heart is reduced, a heart attack of the body.
Discomfort, pain or pressure A heart attack can be indicated by common signals. Even may also be felt in or spread to the shoulder, arm, people who have had a heart attack may not recognize neck, jaw, stomach or back. Another signal of a heart attack the same signals. You should be able to recognize the following signals of a heart attack so that you can give is trouble breathing. The person may be breathing prompt and proper care: faster than normal because the body tries to get the much-needed oxygen to the heart.
The most have noisy breathing or shortness of breath. Some people 3 to 5 minutes or goes away and comes back. They may become fatigued, lightheaded or lose spasms or other conditions. This often causes people consciousness. These signals are caused by the stress to delay getting medical care.
Brief, stabbing pain or put on the body when the heart does not work as it pain that gets worse when you bend or breathe deeply should. Some individuals may show no signals at all. However, sensation in the chest. It usually is not relieved by resting, changing When to Call position or taking medicine.
If you suspect the person is having a heart attack based on his or her signals, call or the local emergency number immediately. A person having a heart attack probably will deny that any signal is serious. If you think the person might be having a heart attack, act quickly. What to Do Until Help Arrives It is important to recognize the signals of a heart attack and to act on those signals.
Any heart attack might lead to cardiac arrest, but prompt action may prevent further damage to the heart. A person suffering from a heart attack, and whose heart is still beating, has a far better chance of living than does a person whose heart has stopped. Many could have been saved if people on the scene or the person having the heart attack had been aware of the signals and acted promptly. Many people who have heart attacks delay seeking care. Nearly half of all heart attack victims wait for 2 hours FIGURE Heart attack pain or pressure is or more before going to the hospital.
Often they do not often felt in the center of the chest. It may spread realize they are having a heart attack. They may say the to the shoulder, arm, neck or jaw. African cardiac arrest. However, preventing a heart attack Americans and Native Americans have higher rates of in the first place is even more effective. There is heart disease than do other U. A family no substitute for prevention. Heart attacks usually result from disease of the Reducing Risk Factors heart and blood vessels.
Although a heart attack There are some risk factors that can be reduced. When you combine one many years. Fortunately, it is possible to slow risk factor, like smoking, with others, such as high the progression of the disease by making lifestyle blood pressure and lack of exercise, your risk of changes.
These are called improve your chances for living a long and healthy risk factors. Some of them cannot be changed. Remember, it is never too late. For instance, although more women than men die each year from coronary heart disease in the The best way to deal with a heart attack or cardiac United States, heart disease generally affects arrest is to prevent it.
Begin to reduce your risk of men at younger ages than it does women. Early treatment with certain medications—including prescribed medication for chest pain. You can help by aspirin—can help minimize damage to the heart after getting the medication for the person and assisting a heart attack.
To be most effective, these medications him or her with taking the prescribed medication. Comforting the person helps A person in cardiac arrest is unconscious, not breathing to reduce anxiety and eases some of the discomfort. Cardiovascular disease is the primary cause of cardiac He or she could quickly get worse on the way. Cardiac arrest also results from drowning, choking, drug abuse, severe injury, brain Giving Aspirin to Lessen Heart Attack damage and electrocution.
However, you should never delay calling or the local emergency number to do this. Always call Cardiac arrest can happen suddenly, without any of for help as soon as you recognize the signals of a heart the warning signs usually seen in a heart attack.
This is attack. Then help the person to be comfortable before known as sudden cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death you give the aspirin. Advanced medical care is needed as taking aspirin? A person in cardiac arrest will have If the person answers no to all of these questions, you the greatest chance of survival if you follow the four may offer him or her two chewable 81 mg each baby links in the Cardiac Chain of Survival: aspirins, or one 5-grain mg adult aspirin tablet 1.
Early recognition and early access to the with a small amount of water. Do not use coated aspirin emergency medical services EMS system.
You also may offer these doses emergency number, the sooner EMS personnel of aspirin if the person regains consciousness while you will take over.
Early CPR. Early advanced medical care. Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops beating or EMS personnel provide more advanced medical beats too ineffectively to circulate blood to the brain care and transport the person to a hospital. Taking When the heart stops beating properly, the body cannot quick action by calling or the local emergency survive.
By acting by an AED is needed. The main signals of cardiac arrest in an adult, a child and an infant are unconsciousness and no breathing. When the heart is not beating, chest directly over your hands Fig. Your body position compressions are needed to circulate blood containing is important when giving chest compressions. Using the correct CPR increases the chances of survival for a person in body position also will be less tiring for you.
Push hard, push fast at a rate of at least compressions per minute. The downward and upward movement should be smooth, not jerky. Push straight down with the weight of your upper body, not with your arm muscles. This way, the weight of your upper body will create the force needed to compress the chest. Try to keep your fingers off of the chest Do not rock back and forth.
Rocking results in by interlacing them or holding them upward. Maintain a steady down-and-up compressions by grasping the wrist of the hand rhythm and do not pause between compressions. If it does, blood to empty out of the heart. B, Release, allowing the chest to return hand positioned on the chest with your other hand. Each rescue breath should last about 1 second and make the chest clearly rise. Each cycle of chest compressions and rescue breaths should take about 24 seconds.
One should call or the local emergency number for help while If at any time you notice that the person is breathing, the other performs CPR. If you recognize that a child or an infant is not breathing, begin CPR. The principles of CPR compressing the chest and giving rescue breaths are the same for children and infants as for adults.
Courtesy of Terry Georgia. He has a terminal illness and is frequently providers while the person is still capable of making in the hospital.
However, because conversations may not One afternoon, you go to his room to give him be recalled accurately or may not have taken into lunch.
As you start to talk to him, you realize that he account the illness or emergency now facing the is unconscious. You check for breathing. He is not person, the courts consider written directives to breathing. What should you do? No one but you can answer that question.
No one Two examples of written advance directives are can advise you. No one can predict the outcome of living wills and durable powers of attorney for health your decision.
You alone must decide whether or not care. The types of health-care decisions covered by to give your grandfather CPR. Talking with a legal Endless questions race through your mind. What would what they cover. What would my If a person establishes a living will, directions for grandfather want?
Your mind tells you to perform health care would be in place before he or she CPR, yet your heart says no. It is important to realize that it is okay to withhold Instructions that can be included in this document CPR when a terminally ill person is dying.
Nature vary from state to state. Advance Directives If a person has established a durable power of Fortunately, this type of heart-wrenching, last-second attorney for health care, the document would decision sometimes can be avoided if loved ones authorize someone else to make medical decisions talk to each other in advance about their preferences for that person in any situation in which the person regarding lifesaving treatments.
This surrogate, with the medical treatment are called advance directives. They must be told about their medical records. Keep these is the best way to formalize your wishes about documents updated. Some of these documents can be obtained through a personal physician, attorney or Keep in mind that advance directives are not limited various state and health care organizations.
A lawyer to elderly people or people with terminal illnesses. Advance directives should be considered by anyone However, if you have any questions concerning who has decided on the care he or she would like to advance directives, it is wise to obtain legal advice.
An unexpected injury or illness could create a need for decisions at any time. For person chosen as the health care surrogate. Tell more information about your rights and the options them which documents have been prepared and available to you in your state, contact a legal where the original and other copies are located. Push hard, push fast surface. Begin CPR by following these steps: to a depth of about 2 inches and at a rate of at least compressions per minute. B, After giving 30 chest compressions, open the airway and give 2 rescue breaths.
Push hard, push fast compressions after calling or the local emergency Fig. Your compressions should be number. Continue giving chest compressions until EMS smooth, not jerky. Keep a steady rhythm. Call or the local emergency Cardiac emergencies are life threatening. Every day number and give care until help takes over.
If the someone will have a heart attack or go into cardiac person is in cardiac arrest, perform CPR. Use an arrest. These cardiac emergencies usually happen AED if one is available. These steps will increase in the home.
If you know the signals of a heart the chances of survival for the person having attack and cardiac arrest, you will be able to respond a cardiac emergency. TIP: The person must be on a firm, flat surface. TIP: If at any time you notice an obvious sign of life, stop CPR and monitor breathing and for any changes in condition. TIP: The child must be on a firm, flat surface.
TIP: The infant must be on a firm, flat surface. Every year in the United States more than , people die of sudden cardiac arrest. Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anytime without warning but usually occurs in adults. Most cardiac arrests happen in the home. You also will read about the steps to follow when using an AED. These signals travel through the upper chambers of the heart, called the atria, to the lower chambers, called the ventricles. When the heart is normal and healthy, these electrical signals cause the ventricles to squeeze together, or contract.
These contractions force blood out of the heart. The blood then circulates throughout the body. Be thoroughly system can be disrupted. Also, be familiar with maintenance guidelines for the The most common abnormal heart rhythm that causes device that you will be using. The person may suddenly collapse precautions: unconscious, and stop breathing.
Also, use an AED as soon as it is available and ready to use Fig. Most AEDs can be operated by following 55 pounds. Touching or moving the person may affect analysis. This ensures that no one is touching or is in contact with the person that the AED pads will stick to the chest properly.
You or someone else could be shocked. Place one pad on the upper right chest and the other pad on the left side of the chest. Deliver a shock by pushing the shock button if indicated and prompted by the AED. Make sure that the pads are not touching. However, most cases of cardiac arrest blades Fig. Always follow local protocols i. Follow the same general steps and precautions that you would when using an AED on an adult in cardiac arrest.
B, If the pads risk touching each other, place one on the chest and the other on the back of the child or infant. Familiarize yourself with these situations as much as possible so that you know how to respond appropriately, should the situation arise.
A shock delivered in water could harm responders or bystanders. Courtesy of Ted Crites. Remove wet clothing to place the pads properly, if necessary. Transdermal Medication Patches Some people have a patch on their skin that If it is raining, take steps to make sure that the person automatically delivers medication through the skin, is as dry as possible and sheltered from the rain.
Nicotine patches used to stop smoking pads wet. Do not waste time trying to identify patches. Some people whose hearts are weak, beat too slowly, skip beats or beat in a rhythm that is too fast may have had a pacemaker implanted.
Typically they feel like a small lump under the skin. ICDs exposure to the cold. If the person is not breathing, automatically recognize and restore abnormal heart begin CPR until an AED becomes readily available. Attach the AED pads. If a shock is indicated, directly over the device Fig. This may interfere deliver it, following the instructions of the AED. Follow local If you are not sure whether the person has an implanted protocols as to whether additional shocks should device, use the AED if needed.
It will not harm the be delivered. However, this risk of injury to responders is minimal, and the amount of Trauma electrical energy involved is low. Follow any special If a person is in cardiac arrest as a result of traumatic precautions associated with ICDs but do not delay in injuries, you still can use an AED. Since time is critical in a cardiac arrest check with the manufacturer to obtain all necessary situation and chest hair rarely interferes with pad information regarding maintenance.
You may need to return the device to the manufacturer for service. Be careful not to cut the person while one complete rescue. A fully charged backup battery shaving the chest, as cuts and scrapes can interfere should be readily available. You do not need to remove jewelry and body piercings when using an AED.
Therefore, do not delay the that happens when the heart suddenly stops beating or use of an AED to remove jewelry or body piercings. You must act quickly to help. For a person metallic jewelry or body piercings. Adjust AED pad to survive cardiac arrest, responders must recognize placement if necessary. The sooner the EMS system is activated, harmful to the person. AEDs require minimal maintenance. Let the AED analyze the heart rhythm. If pediatric equipment is not available, rescuers may use AEDs configured for adults.
Breathing emergencies happen when air cannot travel freely and easily into the lungs. Respiratory distress, respiratory arrest and choking are examples of breathing emergencies. In a breathing emergency, seconds count so you must react at once. The heart pumps the blood The human body needs a constant supply of oxygen throughout the body. When you breathe through your mouth and vessels, delivering oxygen to the brain, heart and all nose, air travels down your throat, through other parts of the body.
This pathway from the mouth and nose to the lungs is called In some breathing emergencies the oxygen supply to the the airway. As a result, the heart soon stops As you might imagine, the airway, mouth and nose are beating and blood no longer moves through the body.
As a result, they can be blocked more 6 minutes Fig. In a breathing emergency, air must reach the lungs. For any person, regardless of age, it is important to keep the It is important to recognize breathing emergencies airway open when giving care. However, children and infants usually have healthy hearts. When the heart stops in a child or infant, it usually is the result of a breathing emergency. Recognizing the signals of Nose breathing problems and giving care often are the keys to preventing these problems from becoming more Mouth serious emergencies.
Tongue If the injured or ill person is conscious, he or she Epiglottis may be able to indicate what is wrong by speaking or gesturing to you and may be able to answer questions. CDC estimate that in , nearly Asthma is the Respiratory distress and respiratory arrest are types third-ranking cause of hospitalization among those of breathing emergencies. Respiratory distress is a younger than 15 years. It is the most common breathing emergency. Respiratory You often can tell when a person is having an asthma distress can lead to respiratory arrest, which occurs attack by the hoarse whistling sound that he or when breathing has stopped.
This sound, known as wheezing, occurs because air becomes trapped in Normal breathing is regular, quiet and effortless. A person the lungs. Trouble breathing, shortness of breath, does not appear to be working hard or struggling when tightness in the chest and coughing after exercise are breathing normally. This means that the person is not other signals of an asthma attack. Previews available in: English. Add another edition? Copy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page.
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Borrow Listen. Want to Read. Delete Note Save Note. Download for print-disabled. Check nearby libraries Library. Share this book Facebook. July 14, History. An edition of American Red Cross emergency response This edition was published in by Mosby Lifeline in St.
Louis, MO. Written in English. Libraries near you: WorldCat. Edition Notes Includes bibliographical references and index.
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