Imagine that you work in childcare, volunteer with youth, or have a baby of your own, and a crisis occurs. How will you handle an unresponsive child? You must have answers to this question before anything life-threatening happens. Here is how to properly perform pediatric CPR. Show
Engage and Call Before HelpingFirst, check to see if the child or infant is unresponsive. To check a child for responsiveness, tap their shoulders and shout, “Are you okay?” To check an infant under one year old, tap on the bottom of their foot. If they are unresponsive, you know they need immediate care. You should always call 911 to ensure help is on the way quickly. If others are nearby, ask them to call 911. The more quickly that trained responders can arrive at the scene, the better the outcome will be. Check Breathing and Start CompressionsThe first thing you must do is check for breathing. Check to see if the child or infant is breathing normally or is only gasping. If their chest is rising and falling smoothly, quietly, and rhythmically, they do not need CPR. If they are not breathing normally, are only gasping, or you are not sure, you should begin chest compressions immediately. This is where pediatric CPR differs slightly from adult CPR. Since children are smaller, you must adapt your force when administering chest compressions. Follow these quick steps for your compressions: - Gently lay the child on their back on a firm, flat surface. - Place one or two hands on the center of their chest on the lower half of their breastbone. For infants, you will only use two fingers or two thumbs on their breastbone. - Then, perform compressions. For infants, press down about one and a half inches into their chest. For children, press down about two inches. - Give the 30 chest compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute. You can use the rhythm of the song “Stayin’ Alive” as a general guideline. Remember to let their chest recoil completely between compressions Add Rescue Breaths- Open the child's airway by tilting their head back and lifting the chin up. - Give two small breaths—just enough to let the chest begin to rise, about 1 second for each breath. For a child, pinch their nose with your thumb and index finger and seal your mouth over their mouth. For an infant,
seal your mouth over both their mouth and nose. Continue this sequence of 30 compressions and two breaths until help arrives. Remember that it is always best to learn how to properly perform pediatric CPR from a licensed CPR trainer in an official program. While these quick tips can help you in an emergency, you should check out our CPR AED classes in New York. Our team at Frontline Health has years of experience training and certifying people of all backgrounds and ages in pediatric CPR methods. Welcome!We’re excited that you’ve decided to take Child and Infant CPR, and that you’ve chosen us to direct your learning experience. You never know when you may be called upon to perform CPR on a child or infant. All parents, grandparents, babysitters, older siblings, daycare workers, teachers and anyone else who lives or works with children should learn how to perform CPR when disaster strikes. CPR can save a child’s life by providing the brain, heart and other organs with life-giving oxygen in the event of respiratory and/or cardiac arrest. Drowning, poisoning, accidents, smoke inhalation and SIDS are only a few of the emergencies that could result in death if not treated quickly. In this course, you will learn:
Let’s get started! Two Rescuer CPR for Children (aged 1 year to puberty)When two rescuers are present, performing CPR on a child is the same as performing CPR on an adult, except that the compression ventilation ratio when 2 rescuers are present drops to 15:2. One or two hands may be used to compress the chest to a depth of 1/3 the diameter of the chest. Remember that compressions should be done when there is no pulse present or when the child’s heart rate is less than 60 beats a minute and there are signs of poor perfusion.Rescuers should trade off performing compressions every two minutes to avoid fatigue. CPR for Infants (up to 12 months of age)CPR for infants is similar to CPR for adults and children. There are a few differences as follows:
The Pediatric Chain of SurvivalThe pediatric chain of survival can be thought of as a sequence of events that must occur in order to restore health in a child or infant victim of sudden cardiac arrest. Because children are more prone to respiratory arrest and shock, it is essential to recognize and prevent airway and breathing problems before they occur to prevent cardiac arrest and to ensure survival and full recovery. For this reason, the most important link in the pediatric chain of survival is prevention. Unintentional injuries are the number one cause of death in children. Children’s lives can be saved by focusing on prevention of emergencies. Knowing CPR is important, but even more important is ensuring that CPR is never needed in the first place! Therefore, the Pediatric Chain of Survival includes:
One Rescuer Child CPRIf you are alone and come across a child who is down, follow the steps below. If someone else is immediately available to assist, use the ‘Two Rescuer’ sequence. Stay Safe: If you come upon a child who may need CPR, look around and make sure you and the child are in a safe place. If the child is in water or on a road, try to move the child to a safer area. If you are in a safe area, do not try to move the child as he/she may have other injuries that you cannot see. Simply roll him/her over onto his back. Make sure the child is on a firm surface, in case compressions are needed. Assess the Victim: To quickly assess the victim, shake his shoulder and yell at him. Check for breathing. If he/she is not breathing, or is
not breathing normally (i.e., only gasping), shout for help. Begin CPR
*Signs of poor perfusion: this refers to a lack of blood flow that results in certain visible signs, including pale skin color or bluish discoloration of the skin. Fingers, earlobes, lips and nail beds may look bluish or light gray. Sometimes there may be mottling, which is a mixture of a purplish or blotchy red-blue coloring on the extremities (arms or legs). One Rescuer CPR for Infants (up to 12 months of age)If you are the lone rescuer of an infant:
Two Rescuer CPR for Infants (up to 12 months of age)If there are 2 rescuers available:
Mouth-to-Mouth-and Nose BreathingTo provide breaths to an infant when there is no face mask available:
You may wonder how mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-mouth-and-nose breathing can sustain the victim. In actual fact, your expired air contains about 17% oxygen- this is just enough oxygen to meet the victim’s needs for a brief period of time. When providing mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-mouth-and-nose breathing, it is important not to provide breaths that are too forceful or too rapid. Doing so may cause air to enter the stomach rather than the lungs, which can cause gastric inflation. Gastric inflation may result in vomiting, and an unconscious victim may develop pneumonia if vomitus makes its way to the lungs. To avoid gastric inflation, give each breath slowly over 1 second and deliver just enough air to make the chest rise. Rescue BreathingRespiratory arrest is defined as the cessation of breathing. During respiratory arrest, as well as when there is inadequate breathing, the victim will still have some amount of cardiac output, which you will be able to detect as a palpable pulse. It is important to be able to recognize respiratory arrest, or impending respiratory arrest, which may be seen as slow, irregular or gasping respirations. These abnormal respirations are inadequate to support life. Respiratory arrest inevitably leads to cardiac arrest if not treated, therefore rescuers should intervene quickly to prevent this deterioration by providing rescue breathing. For children and infants, give one breath every 3-5 seconds (12-20 breaths per minute). Check for a pulse every 2 minutes- if the victim loses their pulse, begin chest compressions combined with breaths. Choking in the Conscious Child (older than 1 year of age)
Choking in the Conscious Infant (less than 12 months of age)
Choking in the Unconscious Child
Choking in the Unconscious Infant
CPR Certification Skills Review
What are the steps for an unresponsive child?Shout for help.. Check their breathing by tilting their head back and looking and feeling for breaths. Do this for no more than ten seconds. ... . Move them onto their side and tilt their head back. Putting them on their side with their head tilted back helps keep the airway open. ... . Call 999 as soon as possible.. What are the 5 steps for giving CPR to an infant?These guidelines are based on information provided by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.. Step 1: Check for responsiveness. ... . Step 2: Give 30 chest compressions. ... . Step 3: Open the airway. ... . Step 4: Look, listen, and feel for breathing. ... . Step 5: Give 2 rescue breaths.. What should be done if an unresponsive infant or child victim has a pulse and normal breathing?If there is a pulse and breathing, continue to monitor and support breathing. If there is a pulse and no/abnormal breathing, start rescue breathing (1 breath every 2-3 seconds). Continue CPR for 2 minutes OR until AED is on, powered up, and ready for use.
Can you tap and shout to check for responsiveness but the patient does not respond What is your next step after calling for help?If the person is not responding, breathing, or only gasping, start CPR. Give 30 compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 beats per minute and at a depth between 2 to 2.4 inches (5 to 6 cm). Let the chest rise back up before you start your next compression. Open the airway and give two breaths.
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