PADI RTO First Aid Student Manual

HLTAID001 - PROVIDE CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION Standard precautions

What standard precautions should we follow while providing emergency care? Always place a barrier between you and any moist or wet substance from another person; assume all blood and fluid are potentially infectious. Basic anat my and physiology This section covers the basic anatomy and physiology as it relates to CPR along with how to check for responsiveness in a casualty and how positional change can affect airway management. How to recognise a person is not breathing normally What are the priorities of care during respiratory failure? Respiratory problems require the immediate attention of Emergency Responders because without oxygen the brain begins to die within a few minutes. The two problems with the respiratory system that Emergency Responders learn to handle are: 1. respiratory failure 2. airway obstruction It’s important for you to first open the airways and check whether or not an unresponsive and unconscious casualty is breathing normally. How do you determine if a casualty is not breathing normally? Begin by opening the airway, using head tilt-chin lift manoeuver (more on this later). Next, place your ear over the casualty’s nose and mouth, and quickly scan for normal breathing: look toward their chest and see if it rises and falls; listen for signs of normal breathing; feel for their breath on your ear (your ear is very sensitive, so if the casualty is breathing, even lightly, you’ll probably feel it). You may also gently place your hand on the casualty’s chest to feel if it rises and falls. Casualties who are gasping or breathing abnormally and are unresponsive require resuscitation. There is a high incidence of abnormal gasping (agonal gasps) after cardiac arrest. Chest What is the general purpose of the respiratory system and how does it work? The chest contains two lungs, one lung on the right side of the chest, the other on the left side. The lungs are soft and protected by the ribcage. The general purpose of the respiratory system is to bring oxygen (O 2 ), into our body and to remove carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Oxygen is a gas that provides us energy while carbon dioxide is a waste product or “exhaust” of the body. The diaphragm separates the chest cavity (containing the heart and lungs) from the abdominal cavity and performs an important function in respiration (breathing). Normal breathing is essential to maintaining life. When the diaphragm flattens and the ribs are lifted up and out, the volume of the lungs increase, pulling air into the body through the mouth or nose. Air entering the body is moistened and filtered.

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