Primary Assessment

Primary assessment

In a major 2010 change, the American Heart Association said that rapid, deep presses on the chest of an adult cardiac arrest victim until help arrives, works just as well as standard CPR for one lay rescuer.

Experts hope bystanders now will be more willing to jump in and help if they see someone collapse. Hands-only CPR is simpler and easier to remember and removes a big barrier for people skittish about mouth-to-mouth breathing.

You only have to Call 911 and push hard and fast on the middle of the victim’s chest.

Hands only CPR for lay rescuer calls for:

Uninterrupted chest compressions 100 times a minute, until EMS workers take over or an automated external defibrillator is available to restore a normal heart rhythm.

This action should be taken only for adults who unexpectedly collapse, stop breathing and are unresponsive. Most likely that the person is having cardiac arrest.

A child who collapses is more likely to primarily have breathing problems, and in that case, mouth-to-mouth breathing should be used. That also applies to adults who suffer lack of oxygen from a near-drowning, drug overdose or carbon monoxide poisoning.

CPR/AED Initial Assessment

CPR in First aid is the provision of immediate care to a victim with an injury or illness, usually affected by a lay person, and performed within a limited skill range. Until the next level of care, such as a paramedic or doctor, arrives.

Guiding Principles

The key guiding principles and purpose of first aid is:

  • Preserve life
  • Prevent further injury
  • Promote recovery

Educating even a few people in first aid improves the safety of everyone they come into contact with.

Teaching first aid cpr classes also provides an opportunity for teaching safety, prevention and risk reduction measures and avoiding injuries.

Any person trained online in first aid and cpr can be taught to appreciate the importance of safety, making them an ideal advocate for spreading safety awareness to others in their organization or family.

Initial Action

Protecting Yourself

First aid responders are neverrequired to place themselves in a situation which might place them in danger. It is important to remember, you cannot help a victim if you become a victim yourself.

As you approach a scene, you need to be aware of the dangers which might be posed to you as a first aider, or to the victim.

Look for obvious such as:

  • Traffic
  • Gas or chemical leaks
  • Live electrical wires
  • Buildings on fire
  • Falling objects.

Always use common sense and remember the big D for Danger.

Once you have assessed the scene for danger, you should continue to be aware of changes to the situation or the environment that could present danger to you or your victim until you have left the scene.

Remember to never put yourself in harm’s way.

As You Approach the Scene:

  • Assess the Scene
  • Look for Clues
  • Get some Information

If there are witnesses, ask them what’s happened “Did you see what happened here?”

Look for obvious:

  • Bleeding, or wounds
  • Irregular skin color or body temperature
  • Medical ID bracelets or necklaces
  • Obvious signals of pain

Responsiveness

Once you are confident that there is no danger to yourself in the situation, the next step is to assess how your victim responds to you.

Good  form of greeting and question, such as:

“Hello, I’m here to help you. Are you alright?”

  • What is your name?
  • Where are you hurt?
  • Do you have any medical conditions?
  • Are you taking any medications?

The best result would be the victim looking at you and replying. This means that the victim is alert at this time.

If the victim looks at you spontaneously, can communicate (even if it doesn’t make sense) or seems to have control of their body, they can be assessed as Alert.

Key indicators on the victim are their;

  • Eyes
  • Response to voice – Do they reply? Do they seem to understand?
  • If the victim is not alert, but you can get them to open their eyes, , then you can say that they are responsive to Voice.
  • If you feel that there is a life-threatening emergency Always call 9-1-1 for life threatening emergency!

Important Things To Remember:

  • DO NOT give care to a conscious person who refuses it.
  • If a person does not give consent and require assistance, call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number.
  • If the conscious person is an infant or child, get permission from the parent or guardian if present to assist with first aid.
  • If parent or guardian is not present consent applies.
  • If the person is unconscious or unable to respond consent is implied.
  • Implied consent means you can assume that if the person could respond, he or she would agree to be cared for.

Whenever Possible:

  • Avoid contact with blood or other body fluids
  • Avoid touching objects that may be soiled with blood or other body fluids
  • Cover any cuts or scrapes on your body before putting on protective equipment such as gloves
  • Whenever Possible Use:
  • protective eyewear
  • resuscitation masks
  • face shields
  • disposable gloves

Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) required practices of infectious control to protect employees from exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials. These precautions require that all human blood and body fluids and body substances be treated as if known to be infectious with hepatitis B, C virus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or other blood borne pathogens.

Training programs are guided by OSHA standards but could vary from region to region.