Most people who take a CPR class, or BLS Provider certification are fulfilling a requirement for their job, but any of those individuals would say how rewarding it is to have these lifesaving skills off the job, as well.
When using your CPR skills as a Bystander Personal Protective Equipment (PPE, of course) won’t become available until the AED arrives. How do you proceed without potentially exposing yourself to something? Fear of contracting COVID-19 is one more possible deterrent from someone initiating CPR in public.
Providing Hands OnlyTM CPR is the safest and most effective way to help save an Adult for a Witnessed Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). Please see our article on Hands OnlyTM CPR.
In the following situations breaths should be considered for certified individuals only.
– Children and Infants
– Drowning victims
– Unresponsive choking victims
– Drug overdose
– Smoke inhalation
– Head injury that stops breathing
– An Unwitnessed Cardiac arrest
Note: Mouth-to-mouth breathing is intended for friends and family. Barrier devices should always be considered for people you don’t know. A “really” Good Samaritan would sometimes consider that the benefits of giving a person life-saving breaths far outweighs the risk.
For me personally if I am swimming In the ocean and a person drown next to me I would give them mouth-to-mouth breaths-that could have been me lying there. Every person has a different level of comfort when it comes to giving life-saving breaths to a stranger. Getting vaccinated for Corona Virus might alleviate some of your fear, however new variants may add more apprehension, which is the case with me.
In medical settings, the Bag Valve Mask (BVM) is the safest and most efficient way to deliver breaths, but we certainly won’t have a BVM, or even a pocket mask when wearing a bathing suit at the beach, or pool. Unfortunately, the pocket mask or rescue keychain does not protect us from viruses.
For this reason Hands OnlyTM CPR could be utilized in all situations listed above as an alternative until EMTs arrive with a BVM.
By Roy Gordon, NREMT/ BLS, CPR Instructor
Revive CPR Training San Francisco
Learn more about our American Heart Association CPR classes in San Francisco and how to save-a-life performing high quality CPR!
Visit us at www.revivecpr.com
Hands-OnlyTM CPR is a Trademark of the American heart Association
