We just entered into the top 100 days for teenage deaths. From Memorial Day on, there is a substantial increase in the amount of teenage deaths. The reasons behind these vary; drowning, injuries from cliff diving, boating, etc., burns and many more.
One thing we can all do to hopefully decrease these amounts is to educate ourselves with the most basic support we can.
CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation is something that I vehemently think ALL teens and adults must know.

I am CPR certified, but this is just an informational blog about CPR. Please get certified before you end up in a situation where CPR is necessary!

If you end in a situation where an urgent scenario is taking place, make sure to take care of yourself first.

1. Check your surroundings.

• Use your senses; do you smell gas or hear the buzzing of a broken electrical cord? If you think there is any danger to yourself, call 911. Do not try to be superman.
  -What happened? Why did the person become unconscious - do they have an illness or a noticeable injury? Use witnesses if available to see if they saw something that could indicate what the problem is.
• How many people are involved? Take in a 360 view of the scene...
• IS ANYONE ELSE AVAILABLE TO HELP? If so and they have more medical training than you, LET THEM TAKE LEAD!! This is very important. You do not want to practice outside of your scope!

2. Check responsiveness of victims involved

• Check their level of consciousness - are they responsive? If they are not obviously responsive (talking, groaning, moving, etc.) tap them on the shoulder and shout "Are you okay?"
• The pneumonic AVPU will help you assess their level of consciousness.
  ALERT - are they awake but confused?
  VERBAL - do they respond to verbal stimuli? - may be as subtle as a twitch or momentary eye movement
  PAINFUL - do they respond to painful stimuli? - may be very subtle
  UNRESPONSIVE - no response
  - If the patient is unresponsive, call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number.

3. Airway

• If the patient is alert, their airway is open.
• For unresponsive patient, put them on their back if they are not already.
  -To open unresponsive pt's closed airway, either use the head tilt/chin life technique or the modified jaw-thrust maneuver (if it could be a spinal, head or neck injury)

3a. Head-tilt/chin-lift technique

• put pressure on forehead and simultaneously pull up on the bony part of the chin - for adults, you must pull it past the natural position to open the airway.

3b. Modified jaw-thrust maneuver

• Only for victims with suspected head, neck or spinal injury
• Kneel by their head and put a hand on each side of their head. Place thumbs on the corners of their mouth and point them to the chin. Slide the other fingers under the angle of the jaw bone and without moving their head or neck, pull jaw upward

4. Simultaneous breathing/pulse check

• Put your ear over their mouth, nose while feeling for a carotid pulse. Also while doing this, look for chest expansion.
  - To check for a carotid pulse, slide 2 fingers down the groove of the persons neck. DO NOT FEEL FORIT ON BOTH SIDES AT ONCE, YOU COULD CUT OFF CIRCULATION TO THE BRAIN.
  • Note that normal breathing is quiet, effortless and has a regular rhythm - abnormal breath sounds indicates a problem (Ie chocking, allergic reaction)

What to do with the information you've gathered.

• If the patient is NOT breathing and has a pulse, they could be going into respiratory arrest. You must begin ventilation; you should give one ventilation for each 5-6 seconds. Just think, we breathe about 12-20 breaths per minute; you do not want to hyperventilate them.
  - Continue ventilations until they start breathing on their own, someone shows up with more medical background, the patient loses their pulse, or the scene becomes unsafe.
• If there the person is not breathing and without a pulse and responses, they are in cardiac arrest. You must begin CPR and call for help.
• If they are responsive, ask for content and call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number if the situation is life threatening.

CPR

Compressions

1. Make sure the person is on a flat hard surface
2. Expose the persons chest to ensure proper hand placement
3. Position hands with heel of one hand on the center of the chest at the lower part of the sternum. Interlace the fingers of the other hand on top of the first hand to keep fingers off of chest.
4. Keep arms as straight as possible to make sure to do effective compressions.
5. Give compressions at a rate of 100-120 compressions per minute.
6. Make sure to compress the chest at least 2 inches.
7. Allow for chest to fully re-expand between each compression to allow the heart to get adequate blood flow.
8. For each 30 compressions, follow with 2 ventilations.

Ventilations

1. You will give 2 ventilations that last about 1 second each during CPR
2. When giving mouth-to-mouth, protect yourself first and then open airway, push on their chin and close their mouth; you will seal your mouth around their nose and breathe into it. Between ventilations, open mouth to allow air to escape.

Stopping CPR

• Each cycle is 30 compressions followed by 2 ventilations.
• You will stop CPR when you see signs of spontaneous circulation (patient becoming responsive), an AED is available, other trained rescuers take over, they have a DNR, you are too exhausted to continue and no one is there to help, the scene becomes unsafe.

I received all of my information from a Red Cross course that I had to take for nursing school, please understand the importance of this and enroll yourself and your teenage children in a BSL (Basic Life Support) course this summer - it could save you or anyone around you if it comes up!

I have also attached a very helpful video that I used before taking the class. Take a look.

Hope you enjoy.
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Grace