18 May 2009RESUSCITATION – GENERAL INFORMATION
You should learn how to do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and teach it to your older children.
If breathing has stopped, place the patient on his back. Check to see whether his heart is beating. The pulse can be felt at the wrist or at the neck, or you can place your hand over his heart and feel his heart beat, or you can listen with your ear placed on his chest.
If the heart has stopped, the pupils of the eyes dilate and they do not respond to light. If the heart has stopped, you must begin external cardiac massage.
If the heart is still beating, but the breathing has stopped, the patient will show signs of cyanosis. This is the blue discoloration of the skin, more noticeable on the lips and other mucous membranes in a dark-skinned person. It is due to a build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood.
Check the mouth and remove any foreign body, such as seaweed, blood or vomit. In an adult you may have to remove false teeth. Do this quickly.
If possible place a small pillow or a folded towel or a coat under the shoulder blades. Kneel beside the head of the patient. Lift the lower jaw forward and keep this up all the time, otherwise the tongue will fall back and obstruct breathing.
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