How to Check Respiration
Checking for respiration is one of the first things you need to do while evaluating a victim in an emergency situation. According to the American Heart Association, you need to determine if a person is breathing normally or breathing erraticly, in what are called agonal gasps representing cardiac arrest.
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Instructions
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How to Check Respiration
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1
Kneel down next to the victim and determine if he is conscious or unconscious. Ask "Are you okay?" If they are unable to speak ask them to motion that they are conscious; you need to determine if they are breathing.
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2
Perform a head-tilt to see if there are any obstructions to the air path. Place your palm on the victim's forehead pushing his head back gently. With the other hand, lift the victim's chin forward. This opens the airway and may cause them to take a breath. You can also look to see if there are any visible obstructions.
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3
Look at the victim's chest. Normal breathing makes the chest go up and down as the lungs inflate and deflate. You have five to ten seconds to determine if they are breathing so you want to act quickly and make quick assessments.
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4
Listen to the victim's mouth for any sign of breathing. You may also feel breath if the victim is breathing.
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5
Perform CPR if the person is not breathing. This will require breathing for the person. You should give the victim two breaths, each lasting one second. Keep your breath normal and don't try to force air into the victim's lungs. Watch his chest rise. Then you should do 30 chest compressions, two per second. Chest compression are done with your hands clasped together pressing 1 to 2 inches down in between the person's breasts. Alternate breath for compression until help arrives or the person regains consciousness.
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Tips & Warnings
If the victim is breathing, you do not need to start CPR. If there are no signs of respiration, you will need to begin CPR with chest pumps and artificial respiration.
If the victim does have respiration but the respiration is not in a normal pattern, you may still need to assist the victim with respiration.
If you are unsure about performing CPR or feel rusty, realize that doing something is better than doing nothing according to the Mayo Clinic. You could be saving someone's life by trying.
The CPR methods described above are for adults. If you are trying to resuscitate a child under the age of 8, perform Steps 1 through 4 first. If you need to perform CPR use only one hand for compressions and breathe more gently. Maintain the same two breathe, 30 compression alternations you would use for an adult.
