Keeping the airway open, look for chest movement and signs of breathing (for maximum of 10 seconds).
Ignore any agonal breathing (occasional gasps, slow, laboured, or noisy breathing) which is common in the early stages of cardiac arrest - it should not be taken as a sign of life.
If breathing, turn into the recovery position. Check help has been called and continually assess that breathing remains normal.
If there is any doubt about the presence of normal breathing, start chest compressions (see below).
C = Circulation:
If not clearly breathing, begin CPR (30:2): repeated cycles of 30 chest compressions then 2 rescue breaths.
Minimise interruptions to CPR (plan actions before interrupting), and ensure it is performed adequately:
Rate: aim for 100-120/min. Depth: aim to …show more content…
Only stop CPR cycles to recheck the victim if they start to show signs of regaining consciousness.
If the victim has lost consciousness and is still not breathing, the heart will stop and there will be a risk of brain damage. Chest compressions combined with rescue breaths can help resuscitate the victim and get blood circulating around the body again. This is done by carefully pushing down on the victim’s chest and following this push by rescue breaths (mouth to mouth resuscitation).
It is very important that you do not attempt CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) unless you have been formally trained or someone who has formal knowledge and training is telling you exactly what to do.
Conclusion
As the understanding of first aid and lifesaving measures has advanced, and the nature of public health risks has changed, the contents of first aid kits have changed to reflect prevailing understandings and conditions. For example, earlier US Federal specifications for first aid kits included incision/suction-type snakebite kits and mercurochrome