EMERGENCY RESCUE PROCEDURES

Important: These procedures are in addition to making a call for help as may be needed.

Rescue Procedures for Lack of Breathing

1. Place your hand on the person’s forehead and hold it back. While holding the forehead back, pinch the person’s nose shut with your fingers.2. Open the airway by putting your other hand under the person’s jaw, and tilt the chin until it points straight up. For children and infants, It should not be titled as far back as an adult’s, less for infants. If titled too far back, it may close off the child/infant’s airway.

3. Take a deep breath and open your mouth wide. Place your mouth over the person’s mouth. Blow air into the person’s mouth until you see the person’s chest rise. For children and infants, cover both the child/infant’s mouth and nose with your mouth. For children and infants, first, give 2 full, slow breaths in succession, 1 to 1½ seconds apart. For infants, give 2 slow, gentle breaths at 1 to 1½ seconds per breath.

4. Remove your mouth from the person’s mouth. Watch for the chest to fall while listening for escaping air from the person’s mouth.

5. The process is working If you hear escaping air and see the chest fall.

6. Repeat the process about every 5 seconds. Wait for the chest to fall after each breath.

7. If you don’t hear air escaping, airway is blocked. Follow Rescue Procedures for Choking.

8. If the person vomits, turn the person on his or her side and clear the mouth of vomit using your fingers.

9. Check the person’s pulse.

Important: You are doing the breathing for the person. If you stop the process for a person that is not breathing, the person could die. Continue the process until help arrives.

Rescue Procedures for Choking

1. For a choking person, who can speak, breathe or cough, do nothing except encourage the person to cough. Coughing is the best way to remove an obstruction causing choking

2. For a choking person who cannot speak, breathe or cough, do the following:

For a Choking Conscious Person

a. Stand behind the person, who can be either standing or sitting.b. While standing behind the person, make a fist and place the thumb side of the fist against the person’s abdomen just above the navel and below the ribs.

c. Hold the fist with the other hand and make a sharp inward and upward thrust, until the object causing the choking is expelled. Avoid pressure against the person’s rib cage with your forearms.

Repeat procedure until the person is no longer choking.

For infants, lay the infant face down along the inside length of your arm with the head below the stomach. Hold the infant’s chin with your fingers. Make 4 firm, but controlled blows with the other hand to the infant’s back between the shoulder blades. Then, turn the infant on its back along your forearm. Keep the head lower than the stomach. Then make 4 chest thrusts by placing two fingertips over the center of the chest between the nipples and depressing 1 inch.

For a Choking Unconscious Person

a. Place the person on the ground or floor and follow Rescue Procedures for Lack of Breathing.b. With the person remaining on his or her back, try giving manual thrusts. To give the thrusts to adults, place one of your hands on top of the other with the heel of the bottom hand in the middle of the abdomen, slightly above the navel and below the rib cage.

Press into the person’s abdomen with a quick upward thrust. Repeat 5 times if needed. Do not press to either side. If a woman is pregnant, give chest thrusts only.

For infants, give 4 slight back strikes. Then, give 4 chest thrusts by placing two fingertips over the center of the chest between the nipples and depress 1 inch.

c. Clear the airway.1. Hold the person’s mouth open with one hand using your thumb to depress the tongue.

2. Make a hook with the pointer finger of your other hand, and in a gentle sweeping motion reach into the person’s throat and feel for a swallowed foreign object which may be blocking the air passage.

3. Attempt to give 2 breaths. If air doesn’t go into person’s lungs repeat:

a) 5 abdominal thrusts.b) Probe in mouth.

c) Give 2 full breaths.

d) Repeat until successful or until medical help arrives. If air does goes in lungs perform Rescue Breathing.

For infants and small children, look first. Sweep mouth only if you see the object. This will avoid pushing the object further in.

4. If object comes out and person is not breathing, start Rescue Breathing immediately.Rescue Procedures for an Unconscious Person

There are many possible causes of unconsciousness.

1. Try to wake the person. Tap or shake the person’s shoulder gently. Shout loudly: “Are you OK?”2. If there is no response, check for signs of breathing.

a. Be sure the person is lying flat on his or her back. If you have to, roll the person over. To avoid possible neck injury, turn the person’s head with the body.b. Loosen any tight clothing around the neck and chest.

3. Open the airway.a. If there are no signs of head or neck injury, place one hand on the person’s forehead and apply firm, backward pressure with the palm to help title the head back.b. Place the fingers of the other hand under the bony part of the lower jaw near the chin and lift to bring the chin forward, thus supporting the jaw and helping to tilt the head back.

c. Place your ear close to the person’s mouth. Listen for breathing. Watch the chest and stomach for signs of breathing for at least 5 seconds.

d. If you are unsure, assume they are not breathing.

e. Give Rescue Breathing immediately.

f. If the person vomits, turn the person on his or her side and sweep the mouth clear of vomit using two of your fingers.

Rescue Procedures for Drowning

Be very careful in deciding whether to help a person still in the water. Rescuers often drown as well. Rescuers should avid placing themselves in danger.

1. If the person is not breathing following a drowning, Place the person on the ground or floor and follow Rescue Procedures for Lack of Breathing.Rescue Procedures for Electric Shock

1. Do not touch a person who is in contact with electrical current. The Rescuer can be electrocuted as well. Make sure you do not contact any active electrical current source. Do not approach if the ground is wet. If the person is in contact with a wire or a downed power line, consider using a dry wood or plastic stick (nothing metal) to move it away.2 .Place the person on the ground or floor and follow Rescue Procedures for Lack of Breathing.

Rescue Procedures for Bleeding Wounds

Apply direct pressure over the site of the wound using some type of material. Avoid getting the persons blood on you, including by avoiding skin contact with the person’s blood. if necessary, use several layers of material.

a. Apply firm, steady direct pressure.b. If bleeding is from a limb, use gravity to help slow the flow of blood, by elevating the limb so that it is above the person’s heart.

c. Do not attempt to apply a tourniquet yourself except in the most extreme cases.

Rescue Procedures for Bleeding Head Injuries

Rescuers should assist in cases of bleeding head cases with great care. Neck injuries may accompany a serious head injury. If there is bleeding from an ear, this can mean that there is a skull fracture present.

1. When stopping the bleeding with direct pressure, don’t press too hard keep the neck and head still. NEVER attempt to stop bleeding from within the ear by direct pressure.Rescue Procedures for Bleeding Internally

Symptoms of internal bleeding can include: Vomiting blood or passing blood in urine or stool; coughing; Cold, clammy pale skin; dizziness; rapid, weak pulse.

1. Have the person lie down with feet slightly elevated.Rescue Procedures for Heart Attack

Symptoms of a heart attack can include: Radiating pain from the chest into either arm, the neck or jaw; Severe squeezing pains, crushing pains or heavy pressure in the chest; Shortness of breath; Sweating and weakness, nausea or vomiting; Prolonged “indigestion” type pain.

1. If you cannot detect a heart beat begin CPR.2. If the person is not breathing, follow Rescue Procedures for Lack of Breathing.

Rescue Procedures for Seizure

Symptoms: Person may fall; Person may become unconscious; Person’s limbs may stiffen and jerk violently; Person’s eyes may roll upward; Person may drool; Person may become incontinent; Person’s skin may become bluish.

During the Seizure

1. Allow the seizure run its course Remove any nearby harmful objects. If possible, cushion the person’s head. If possible, lay the person on their left side to help with breathing. Never try put anything in the person’s mouth or to restrain the person. Keep track of time.After the Seizure

1. Stay with the person until fully conscious.Rescue Procedures for Broken Bones

1. Do not touch the area or try to push the broken bone or try to straighten a fracture. Obtain professional help. If you must move or transport the person, immobilize or stabilize the fracture as best as possible.Rescue Procedures for Poisoning

Children are the most likely victims of an accidental poisoning.

1. Obtain professional help. Locate and keep the suspected substance and container. DO NOT give the person anything to eat or drink, especially any liquor or a stimulant.1. If you cannot detect a heart beat begin CPR.

2. If the person is not breathing, follow Rescue Procedures for Lack of Breathing.

3. If the person is vomiting, roll the person over onto his/her side in order to keep the person from choking on what is brought up.

4. While waiting for help:

a. Watch breathing.b. Keep the person warm with a blanket or coat.

Rescue Procedures for Alcohol or Drug Overdose

Be careful, as a person under the influence of alcohol or drugs can be violent or unpredictable .

1. An alcohol or drug overdose is a poisoning. Follow Rescue Procedures for Poisoning.

Rescue Procedures for Burns

Fire Burns

For Small Burns

1. Stop the burning process by cooling the burn with ice or cold running water. Do not apply uncovered ice directly to the burn. If ice is used, it should be placed in a bag or cloth. Do not apply oils or butter to the burn.For Large Burns

1. Cover the person with a clean dry sheet while waiting for help.Chemical Burns

 1. Rescuer should take care not to also get a chemical burn.

2. Take off the person’s affected clothing.

3. Cleanse burned areas with cool water.

For Chemical Burns of the Eye

1. Flush eye with tepid water.

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