Red Cross experts say taking these steps can save many lives. But they also say abdominal thrusts are not for people who have almost drowned. They say using the method could delay other ways to re-start breathing in the victim.
The American Heart Association suggests two ways of helping. One combines the use of hands to pump the victim’s chest with rescue breathing. The other method is called "Hands-Only CPR.”
"Hands-Only” is for people who are unwilling or unable to perform rescue breathing. Some people fear infection. Others say they are afraid of making the patient worse.
But an expert in emergency medicine says a person cannot be worse than dead. Doctor Michael Sayre works at Ohio State University. He strongly urges people in contact with a victim to take action.
The American Heart Association tells how to take that action. It says you can recognize a person needing CPR because the person has collapsed. He or she is unconscious -- unable to communicate or react to surroundings or speech. His or her skin has lost color. The person is not breathing. If such conditions describe the situation, chances are the heart has stopped beating.
You should act by calling for help, or sending someone else. Even if you cannot do mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing, you can perform Hands-Only CPR. You can do chest compressions that help to keep blood flowing to the brain, heart and other organs.
To perform the compressions, place one hand over the other and press firmly on the center of the victim’s chest. Push down about five centimeters. Aim for one hundred compressions each minute. Doctor Sayre says you do not need a measuring stick or a timing device.
If the heart does not start beating, continue with chest compressions until help arrives. For a choking victim who is unconscious with no heartbeat, clear the airway first. Then do chest compressions.
Doctor Sayre suggests that medical workers do both the breathing method and chest compressions. He says some victims, including babies, need the mouth-to-mouth breathing with the compressions. Still, the doctor says it is better to do just chest compressions than to do nothing. CPR is not difficult to learn. Many organizations teach it.
Most CPR training now includes how to use an automated external defibrillator, or AED. Defibrillators use electric shocks to correct abnormal heartbeats that can lead to sudden death. Such devices are found increasingly in public places like airports, restaurants and office buildings. A recorded voice on the AED guides the user. The voice provides detailed information about what to do.
The defibrillator of today has developed from the first defibrillators. Medical historians say the devices appeared late in the nineteenth century.
In the 1920's, American Claude Beck performed the first surgical operations to repair damaged hearts. Doctor Beck worked at what is now called Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Ohio.
Another doctor, Carl J. Wiggers, had kept laboratory animals with heart stoppage alive by massaging their hearts. Then he followed this rubbing with electrical defibrillation. This led Claude Beck in his efforts to help return normal heart actions to human patients.
In 1947, Doctor Beck saved a patient with a defibrillator device for the first time. The doctor’s success led others to further develop the method and device. Today small, moveable AED’s can identify heart rhythms and produce electricity to treat victims of heart stoppage.
Bacteria can enter the body through even the smallest cut in the skin. So medical experts advise people to treat all wounds. Clean the cut with soap and water. Then cover the wound while it heals.
The Mayo Clinic health centers suggest several steps if bleeding is severe. First, if possible, have the person lie down and raise the legs. Remove dirt from the wound and press on it with a clean cloth or piece of clothing. If you cannot find anything clean, use your hand.
Keep putting pressure on the wound until the bleeding stops or medical help arrives. Do not remove the cloth if the blood comes through it. Instead, put another cloth on top and continue pressure. If the bleeding does not stop with direct pressure, put pressure on the artery that carries blood to the wound.
In the past, people were advised to stop severe bleeding with a tourniquet. This device is made with a stick and a piece of cloth or a belt. But experts now say tourniquets are dangerous because they can crush blood passages and nerves.
If a wound seems infected, let the victim rest. Physical activity can spread the infection. Treat the wound with a mixture of salt and water until medical help arrives. Add nine and one-half milliliters of salt to each liter of boiled water. Place a clean cloth in the mixture and then put the cloth on the wound. But be sure not to burn the skin.
To learn more about first aid, ask a hospital or organization like a Red Cross or Red Crescent Society for information. Training may be offered in your area.
If you know first aid methods, you can be calmer and more helpful in case of emergency.