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In this scenario, a child has run along, clutching his chest, and collapsed, so he's ended up on the floor here. Now, cardiac arrest within children is uncommon. Normally, what would happen is there's something else would cause the person to need CPR. Now, maybe he has had a cardiac arrest and the heart has stopped beating, but normally with a child, something else would trigger it. It could be a respiratory problem or it could be other illness or condition. So what we need to do to start with is find out what's actually happened. We need to find out if the child is breathing. Now, before approaching any child, we need to look at the consent as well. If there's somebody there, then we need to ask, maybe a parent or a guardian or a teacher, "Can I help your child?" If not, we can also talk to the child himself so the whole time because it may be the heart has not stopped beating. It maybe he can still hear us. So what we want to do is talk to him the whole time, introduce yourself, so we can find out what's actually happened. So as you're approaching, we would say, "Hello. My name's Keith. I'm a first aider. May I help you?" Now, if you know his name, you can refer to him by name. It may well be the people you're looking after, you don't know their name. Once you've done the initial introduction, then give him a little tap on the collar bone. "Are you okay? Are you okay?" I got no response at all. Because we got no response here, then we need to next find out whether he's breathing. Before we start any first aid, we're going to put gloves on, if possible. In a scenario like this, if you're out and about, then you may not have gloves. You may have sent someone for help. You may have sent somebody to get the first aid kit. But obviously, for keeping things right now, we're going to have the gloves on. So we've introduced ourselves. Next thing to do is open the airway. To do this, we're doing the head tilt, chin lift. Take one hand and put it onto the forehead and on the other hand, the bony part of the chin. And then we're going to tilt the head back. We're just going to open the mouth to have a quick look inside the mouth, make sure there's nothing obvious in there. And then we're going to put our ear down and we're going to look, listen, and feel for signs of breathing for up to 10 seconds. So one, two, nine, 10. We've got no breathing. So what we're doing is we're looking, listening and feeling for signs of breathing, so you'll be able to feel some of the breaths against your cheek, you'll be able to hear it. You'll also be able to see the stomach and the chest going up and down. Now, this point is quite important. If we're on our own, we're dealing with a child. They're not breathing. We must do one minute of CPR and then go for help. So obviously we've called for help. If there's nobody else about or no one's come back to you as a response to your shout for help, we must do one minute of CPR and then go for help. The reason for this is that we're trying to get the body's oxygen and the circulation going within the body. So by doing one minute of CPR, if it is a respiratory linked problem, it may well be we can bring him back to life. If at the point you've done one minute of CPR and there's no joy, you would need to leave him and go and get help. It's crucial we get the emergency services and defibrillation and advanced drugs here. So for this scenario, we've found out he's not breathing, so what we're going to do now is we're going to switch over to a manakin and we're going to show exactly how we deliver the breaths and the compressions.
CPR for Children: Guidelines and Procedures
Challenging Circumstances
Performing CPR on a child is a daunting task, and it's crucial to understand the differences from adult CPR.
Distinguishing Child CPR
Respiratory vs. Cardiac: Children usually require CPR due to respiratory issues, unlike adults who often face cardiac problems.
Modified CPR Technique: Child CPR involves a unique sequence - 5 rescue breaths followed by 30 compressions and 2 breaths, repeated until certain conditions are met.
Proper Techniques
Rescue Breaths: For breaths, cover the child's mouth with yours and pinch the nose closed or use a face shield. Provide gentle one-second breaths until you observe chest rise.
Effective Compressions: Place one hand in the chest's centre, pushing down at least one-third of chest depth for 30 compressions, aiming for a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute. If needed, use both hands.
Immediate EMS Activation
Bystander Assistance: Always instruct a bystander to call EMS promptly if available.
Call Fast Approach: When alone, utilize the "Call Fast" approach - perform 1 minute of CPR before making the emergency call.
Adhering to these guidelines is crucial for effective child CPR.