Cardiac arrest is a serious complication that must be dealt with swiftly to ensure a higher revival and survival rate for the victims of the attack. Heart attack commonly occurs for older people, but sometimes, there are children and even infants that suffer from this illness. Heart attack does not choose its victims, but there are ways in which someone can help the revival of a person that is undergoing sudden cardiac arrest and that is through the administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is the process of repeated chest compressions along with the inputting of air into a person’s lungs. This seemingly simple maneuver takes a long time to master and to successfully administer, but being able to have rudimentary knowledge is good enough for the layperson. For those truly wanting to know how to perform proper and effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a training done under the wing of a professional CPR administrator that has the proper equipment that can help you practice the technique.
There are different ways to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation, depending on the person involved. Children and infants require special care and technique when administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation due to the current density of their bones. There is a difference in the way the chest compression is facilitated. There is only a set number of inches that you can compress a child or an infant’s chest before possible damage. Although the damage is also present when chest compressions are administered, there is a bigger leeway for chest compressions, making it more thorough.
Children and infant chest compressions, when done thoroughly could break the ribs and pierce internal organs of the children and infants. Taking special care to have the right force to have sufficient chest compressions to be effective without breaking anything is hard. With the right training for the persons involved, anyone can be able to utilize proper chest compressions for infants, children and adults as well.
The most important difference when administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation for children, infants, and adults is the way the palm and the wrist are placed. Children require the use of the heel from one or two hands for the chest compression. Infants only require the use of fingers for the right force to be applied. For adults, proper chest compressions require the use of both hands in fist form.
There are risks when administering CPR for anyone, and that is the risk of vomiting. This is the most common risk. The way to go around the problem is by tilting the head of the victim to the side so that the pathway of the breath is cleared. Always sweep or wipe off the vomit so that you can continue the CPR and breathing in the person. Children are also susceptible to vomiting, so make sure that persons administering chest compressions know these risks to make sure that the path of air is not blocked, making any and all effort for chest compressions useless.
Proper training is one of the most important thing to have when it comes to administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation.