Rescue breathing is a life-saving skill that requires attention to detail.
Rescue breathing is a procedure that can save a life if you correctly apply it to someone who has stopped breathing. If you're not certified or experienced, it's best to refrain from performing it and call someone who is. If you take on this responsibility, know the proper technique for the given situation, according to whether the person is a child, infant or adult, or whether a disability might prevent you from using the normal adult technique. If you don't feel comfortable with first aid procedure, take a CPR course from the Red Cross.
Adult Rescue Breathing
This is the regular technique to use on an adult, assuming that he's an otherwise normal breather. According to New York Hospital Queens.org, you should position the patient on his back, gently tipping his head back by pressing the forehead. Open the airway by slowly tipping up the patient's jaw. Keep his mouth open, checking for breathing. If his chest is not rising and falling, pinch his nose shut. Place your mouth over the victim's, then breathe twice into his mouth. Continue to observe his chest. If no movement happens, continue with one slow breath every five to 10 seconds. After one minute, check the pulse for five seconds. Also do the same with breathing. If he still hasn't responded, continue breathing into his mouth until paramedics arrive.
Child Rescue Breathing
You start the child rescue breathing technique in the same manner as with an adult, placing your lips over the child's mouth. If the victim is a baby, cover the mouth and nose. Gently blow two breaths into the child's lungs, then watch for the chest to rise. If he's not breathing, choking is a possibility. If you have found no such evidence, resume the breath cycle, this time with one breath per every five seconds instead of two until paramedics come.
Pursed Lip Breathing
Pursed lip breathing is a technique rescue breathers use with chronic pulmonary obstructive disorder, or COPD, asthma and emphysema patients. This technique tries to correct an acute dypsnea or breathing stoppage crisis. According to Sierra Biotech.com, it imposes a slight blockage to exhalation airflow at the mouth and keeps you from exhaling too heavily, which could cause increased respiratory distress in a patient with such disorders. It helps prop open the victim's airways and help empty the lungs. Breathe through your nose, which warms the air. It also removes any particles of bacteria that could make it into the patient's body. Press your lips together in the middle so the air can gently escape through the sides of your mouth. Relax your cheeks.
Technique for Neck Breathers
A person who has been through a tracheotomy or laryngectomy requires a special rescue breathing technique. It requires you to be sensitive to the stoma that's in her neck. According to the International Association of Laryngectomees, mouth-to-stoma respiration is the technique to use as the patient breathes through her neck. You must start by making an airtight seal around the stoma or laryngectomy area. Give two slow, deep breaths, two seconds apiece. Check the pulse. If one exists, place your ear to the victim's neck, listening for breathing. See whether her chest is rising and falling; place your hand over her neck to see whether any air escapes. If not, continue giving one breath every five seconds until the ambulance comes. As the IAL website suggests, if hygiene is an issue for you, you may choose an infant or toddler mask, or a bag-valve mask unit.
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