Child CPR

     As you may or may not know, the CPR guidelines for both adults and children were changed by the American Heart Association in October of 2010.  Prior to that, the handy acronym A-B-C indicated the order of operations as "Airway - Breathing - Compressions."  That has now changed to C-A-B, meaning compressions come first.
     Why the change?  With the earlier method, medical professionals were concerned that chest compressions were being delayed too long.  Chest compressions are more important than breathing.  What?!?  Yes, it's true: chest compressions are more important than giving mouth-to-mouth breaths.  In fact, if you are untrained in CPR, you can still give someone only chest compressions until help arrives and may still save their life.  The reason for that is that a reserve supply of oxygen remains in the blood and lungs after a person takes their last breath.  Chest compressions help circulate that vital oxygen through the body, so don't delay!
     Because this post deals with child CPR, here are the new guidelines for children and infants.  This is NOT a replacement for official CPR training.  I recommend taking a class to become certified.  It's also nice to keep a first aid guide on hand in case you have questions in the moment.

1. Check the Scene and make sure everything is safe.
2. Check the Victim, tapping him or her and shouting to make sure he/she is not just sleeping.  Look for injuries.
3. Call for Help, or better yet, send someone else to call while you start CPR.  If you are alone, do five rounds of C-A-B and then call for help.
4. C = Compressions  Roll the victim to his or her back.  For infants (under 1 year), place two fingers in the center of the chest just below the nipple line.  Press down only 1 1/2 inches (you don't need to push hard).  For children, you can place the heel of one hand in the center of their sternum (central rib cage bone) and the other hand on the child's forehead to stabilize, or use two hands.  Lock your elbows and use your body to compress 2 inches, or 1/3 of the depth of the chest.  Do 30 quick compressions in 18 seconds, or almost 2 per second.
5. A = Airway  If trained in CPR, you can now tilt back the head while lifting the chin.  If you have a towel available you can roll it up to help align and support the victim's head.  Look in the mouth for any object that may be blocking the airway, but don't reach in to get it unless you can turn the head and swipe it out.  Otherwise, you may push the object in further.
6. B = Breathing  For an infant, cover the nose and mouth with your mouth and give a light puff.  For children, pinch the nose, make a tight seal over their mouth with yours, and give one breath.  Watch for the chest to rise and fall.  Give a second breath.  If you don't see the chest rise, realign the head and try again.
7. Repeat C-A-B until help arrives or the victim shows signs of life.