As part of our ongoing childcare safety training, au pairs at this morning’s meeting received an overview of basic adult / child and infant CPR techniques, as well as what to do to help someone who’s choking.
The training was conducted by Karl Hitchens, a New Castle County EMT. Au pairs practiced breathing and compressions on manikins, both adult and infant sized. Proper rescue breathing and compression administration was discussed and practiced.
Au pairs will receive a card from the American Heart Association, verifying their participation in today’s training. They’ll be sent to me, so hopefully I can distribute them at our next meeting.
A HUGE THANK YOU again to our trainer and Julia’s host mom for helping to set this up!
ADULT CPR:
* Check the Scene - make sure it is safe for you to help. Don’t become another victim.
* Check the Victim - tap and shout to get response.
* Call for Help - call 9-1-1, or tell someone to call. If you are alone with an adult, call first then start CPR if needed. Call for any unconscious victim, whether they are breathing or not.
* Airway - tilt head back, lift chin up to open airway.
* Breathing - Pinch nose closed, take a normal breath, cover victim’s mouth with yours and blow out your breath until you see the chest rise. Give a second breath. Take about 1 second per breath. If chest doesn’t rise, open airway again.
* Circulation - pump the chest 30 times. Place the heel of one hand in the center of the chest and your other hand on top of it. Press chest down 1 1/2 to 2 inches at a rate of 100 per minute (16 in 10 seconds).
Repeat until help arrives or the victim starts breathing.
CHILD CPR:
Notice that these child CPR steps are nearly identical to adult CPR steps with the following key differences:
* Perform 5 cycles of CPR (about 2 minutes) before calling 9-1-1 if you are alone.
* Use one hand instead of two.
* Depth of compresssions is based on the size of the chest cavity.
Check the Scene - make sure it is safe for you to help. Don’t become another victim.
Check the Victim - tap and shout to get response.
Call for Help - Tell someone to call 9-1-1. If you are alone with a child, perform 5 cycles of CPR first, then call 9-1-1. Even if the child is breathing, call 9-1-1 for any unconscious victim.
* Airway - tilt head back, lift chin up to open airway.
* Breathing - Pinch nose closed, take a normal breath, cover victim’s mouth with yours and blow out your breath until you see the chest rise. Give a second breath. Take about 1 second per breath. If chest doesn’t rise, open airway again.
* Circulation - pump the chest 30 times. Place the heel of one hand in the center of the chest. Press chest down 1/3 the depth of the chest at a rate of 100 per minute (16 in 10 seconds).
Repeat until help arrives or the victim begins breathing.
INFANT CPR:
Notice that these infant CPR steps are nearly identical to adult CPR steps with the following key differences:
* Be careful not to tilt the head too far.
* If you are alone, perform 5 cycles of CPR (about 2 minutes) then call 911
* Cover mouth and nose with your mouth and give gentle breaths.
* Use two fingertips instead of two hands for chest compressions.
* Depth of compresssions is based on the size of the chest cavity.
Check the Scene - make sure it is safe for you to help. Don’t become another victim.
Check the Victim - tap and shout to get response.
Call for Help - Tell someone to call 9-1-1. If you are alone, perform 5 cycles of CPR First, then call 9-1-1. Call 9-1-1 for any unconscious victim, including an infant that is breathing.
* Airway - tilt head back, lift chin up to open airway.
* Breathing - Take a normal breath, cover victim’s mouth and nose with your mouth, and give a gentle breath until the chest rises. Give a second breath. Take about 1 second per breath. If chest doesn’t rise, open airway again.
* Circulation - pump the chest 30 times. Place two fingertips of one hand in the center of the chest.
Press chest down 1/3 the depth of the chest at a rate of 100 per minute (16 in 10 seconds).
Repeat until help arrives or the victim begins breathing.
ADULT & CHILD CHOKING:
Check the Scene - make sure it is safe for you to help the choking victim. Don’t become another victim yourself.
Check the Victim - Ask if they are choking. If they can not cough, speak, or breathe, then they need help.
Call for Help - Tell someone to call 9-1-1. If you are alone with an adult, skip this step until later - it’s more important to fix the choking.
Back Blows and Abdominal Thrusts
Give 5 back blows:
* Stand slightly behind the victim.
* Place one arm diagonally across the victim’s chest for support and lean him forward. With the heel of your other hand, strike the victim firmly between the shoulder blades.
Give 5 abdominal thrusts:
* Place the thumb side of your fist just above the victim’s belly button.
* Grab your fist with your free hand.
* Pull quick, upward thrusts to dislodge the object.
Repeat Back Blows and Abdominal Thrusts until the object is forced out, the victim can breathe, or the victim becomes unconscious.
INFANT CHOKING:
Check the Scene - make sure it is safe for you to help the choking victim. Don’t become another victim yourself.
Check the Victim - If the parent is there, identify yourself and ask if you can help. If the infant cannot cough, cry, or breathe, then they need help.
Call for Help - Tell someone to call 9-1-1. If you are alone with an infant, skip this step until later - it’s more important to fix the choking.
Blows and Thrusts:
* Carefully hold the infant face down on your forearm, your hand supporting its head and neck
* Strike the infant directly between the shoulder blades with the heel of your other hand 5 times
* Turn the infant over and position two fingers in the center of the chest
* Give 5 1/2 to 1 inch deep chest thrusts
Repeat Blows and Thrusts until the object is forced out, the infant starts breathing, or the infant becomes unconscious.
For more information about this, visit the following websites:
American Heart Association
CPR Dude
Here are some pictures from our training: