At any moment an event can occur around us that supposes that we have to act to try to revive a person.
Holidays, good weather and travel cause accidents or drowning to multiply. On many occasions there will be someone better prepared than us to face the situation, But we may find ourselves alone and have to do something.
It is important that we know that not being a health professional or not knowing the maneuvers they do not exempt us to have responsibility. Although the steps are very similar to those followed in an adult, this time we will focus on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation in children.
What is CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation are the maneuvers that allow us to identify if a person is in cardiorespiratory arrest and perform a replacement of respiratory and circulatory functions, without any specific equipment, until the victim can receive a more qualified treatment (AEPED).
These are simple maneuvers that we can learn easily and save lives.
It is essential to implement these maneuvers as soon as possible. If a risk situation is detected no time to waste, every second is vital.
Causes of cardiorespiratory arrest in a child
The most frequent causes in children are accidents: both traffic, domestic accidents, falls, choking, electrocution or drowning.
Who should do it and when to start it
Anyone who knows the technique should perform it. We all need to know the basic steps.
Starting CPR maneuvers as quickly as possible is vital. Ideally, start them in the first 2 or 3 minutes or at the moment when we meet the child in cardiorespiratory arrest.
We will never stop carrying out the maneuvers until either the heart beats again and the child breathes or the emergency services arrive to take charge of the situation.
Never give up, you have to fight to the end.
Steps of CPR in Children
It is important to perform the steps in their correct order, so that they are really useful.
Step 1: Get Rescuer and Child Safe. Signal the accident. Do not move the child unless we are in a dangerous place.
Step 2: Check that the child is unconscious. To do this we will call you by your name out loud, we will yell at you or we will gently pat you. If we suspect that there has been a trauma, never shake it, we could aggravate any injury, especially the cervical ones.
When it comes to a newborn we can rub his back or pat him on the soles of his feet.
- If the child responds, leave him in the position in which he is, as long as he is not in danger.
Regularly check your situation and ask for help if necessary.
- If he does not respond, ask for help without abandoning the child. Do not be afraid, shout, someone close will listen to you and come to your aid. Gently place the child on his back.
Step 3: Open the airway. There are different ways to do it. Be careful, if it is a trauma do not move his neck.
- Forehead-chin maneuver: extend your head and raise your jaw.
- Place your hand on the child's forehead and press gently. Try to tilt your head back.
- Jaw elevation or traction: place the index and middle fingers of each hand behind each side of the child's jaw, pushing it forward. This is the maneuver of choice in case we suspect cervical injury.
Step 4: Keeping the airway open, "look", "listen" and "feel". Place our face close to the child's face, facing his chest. Look for chest movements, listen for breath sounds, and feel for breath.
Step 5: if the child is breathing normally:
- Place the child in a lateral safety position.
- Call to emergency
- Periodically assess the situation.
If the child is not breathing:
- Check that there is no foreign body in the mouth obstructing the airway. If there is, extract it.
- Give 5 mouth-to-mouth insufflations.
- Check if the child breathes or coughs.
If you are an infant:
- Place head in neutral position. We can do this by placing a rolled towel under the child's upper back. Raise the chin up.
- Carry out the insufflations in a sustained way for one second. It is important that with our mouth we seal both the nose and the baby's mouth.
- Check that the baby's chest rises with the insufflations and descends when the air comes out.
Step 6: Check for vital signs, for 10 seconds. Taking the pulse is unreliable, better assess if the child makes any movement or attempt to breathe.
Step 7: If vital signs are clearly present and necessary, continue with inflations.
If there are no signs of life we ​​should start with chest compressions. The recommendation for the general population is to maintain the relationship 30 compressions for two insufflations, if the rescuer is a medic it would be 15/2. The compressions will be done in the lower half of the sternum.
When to call 112 for help
When there is more than one rescuer, one of them should start CPR while another seeks help.
If you are alone, the first thing is to act. Begin CPR for 1 minute or 5 cycles of basic CPR before seeking help.
Here you can see a very short and very clear video of Proyecto Salvavidas.