PADI RTO First Aid Student Manual

Once air enters the body, it travels around the tongue, down the throat or pharynx and past the epiglottis – a flap that prevents food or fluid from entering the lungs. Here, the pharynx divides into two passageways, one for food ( oesophagus ) and the other for air. The passageway for the air is called the trachea or windpipe. The trachea branches into the left and right bronchi , which lead into each of the two lungs. Response/consciousness How do we check for responsiveness in an injured person? Changes in the level of consciousness, or LOC, of a person who may have sustained an injury to the head are an important indicator of the way the brain is functioning. The scale used to measure this is commonly called “AVPU” for Alert, Verbal, responsive to Pain, or Unresponsive. Note: pain inducement is left for the health care professional to control and is not a measure of consciousness for the lay-person rescuer or Emergency Responder. Speak directly to the person. Ask: what is your name? What is the day / time? What happened? Upper airway anatomy and effect of positional change How does positional change effect the upper airway? For some casualties, merely opening the airway lifts their tongue away from the back of their throat allowing them to resume breathing. The tongue is the most common cause of airway obstruction in unresponsive casualties. You need to do this because in an unconscious person, the tongue often falls back and blocks the airway. Use the head tilt/chin lift method. For adults and children (1 to 8 years old): place one hand on forehead, tilt the head backwards, hold up the chin with thumb and fingers to open the mouth and pull the tongue and soft tissues away from the back of the throat. ARC suggests to use ‘pistol grip’ to lift the chin. For infants (less than 1 year old): keep the head neutral (maximum head tilt should not be used) and support the lower jaw at the point of the chin with the mouth maintained open.

HLTAID001 - PROVIDE CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION

I-9

PADI RTO