To check if a person is still breathing: look to see if their chest is rising and falling. listen over their mouth and nose for breathing sounds. feel their breath against your cheek for 10 seconds.
Check for no more than 10 seconds. Occasional gasps are not breathing. If there is no breathing, perform CPR or use an AED if an AED is immediately available.
Check their breathing by tilting their head back and looking and feeling for breaths. When a person is unresponsive, their muscles relax and their tongue can block their airway so they can no longer breathe. Tilting their head back opens the airway by pulling the tongue forward.
Check if the person is breathing abnormally or not breathing at all after 10 seconds. If they are breathing normally, place them in the recovery position and stay with them. If they are still not breathing normally, start CPR. Chest compressions are the most important part of CPR.
The 4-7-8 breathing technique involves breathing in for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds. People may find it helps manage anxiety. This breathing pattern aims to reduce anxiety or help people get to sleep. It is a form of pranayama, which is the practice of breath regulation.
Scene Safety and Recognition of Cardiac Arrest: Check for safety and responsiveness, no breathing, and gasping. Check pulse for more than 5 seconds but within 10 seconds (breathing and pulse check can occur simultaneously).
Tap and talk loudly at the child to determine if they are responsive. Assess for breathing while simultaneously checking for the child's carotid pulse (on the side of the neck) or femoral pulse (on the inner thigh in the crease between their leg and groin) for 5 but no more than 10 seconds.
If the person is not responding and they are unconscious, you need to check their airway by opening their mouth and having a look inside. If their mouth is clear, tilt their head gently back (by lifting their chin) and check for breathing.
When assessing signs of cardiac arrest in an unresponsive patient, check for absent or abnormal breathing by watching the chest for movements for 5 to 10 seconds. Simultaneously, check the carotid pulse for a minimum of 5 seconds—but no more than 10 seconds—to determine if there is a pulse present.
Check their breathing
Keeping the airway open, look, listen and feel for normal breathing by putting your face close to your child's face and looking along their chest. Look for chest movements. Listen at the child's nose and mouth for breathing sounds. Feel for air movement on your cheek.
You can check your heart rate by taking your pulse and counting how many times your heart beats in 1 minute (60 seconds). Your heart rate varies depending on what you're doing – for example, it will be slower if you're sleeping and faster if you're exercising.
Listen for sounds of breathing and see if you can feel their breath on your cheek. Watch to see if their chest moves. Do this for 10 seconds. If they are unresponsive and not breathing, you need to call 999/112 for emergency help and start CPR straight away.
If no signs of life such as breathing (or only gasping breathing) are found, check the pulse. If patient is alert and talking clearly or crying loudly then the airway is open. If airway is not open or is endangered, take measures to open. Check the pulse for no longer than 10 seconds.
For respiratory and cardiac arrest, provide 1 breath every 6 seconds (10 breaths per minute). This does not include the 30:2 CPR ratio/protocol. Early epinephrine was modified to emphasize the role of early epinephrine for nonshockable rhythms after starting CPR.
Research suggests that humans' optimal breathing rate is 5.5 breaths per minute. This works out to be 5.5 seconds per inhale and 5.5 seconds per exhale.
Those with breath holding time of 25 seconds and above are considered to be safe. One must take care to not try too hard and get exhausted in the process.
Close your mouth and quietly inhale through your nose to a mental count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven. Exhale through your mouth, making a whoosh sound for a count of eight. Repeat the process three more times for a total of four breath cycles.
If they do have a pulse but aren't breathing, give them CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) until help arrives. CPR chest compressions are important because they provide oxygenated blood flow to all parts of the body and keep organs alive until medical personnel arrive on scene.
Use the tip of the index and third fingers of your other hand to feel the pulse in your radial artery between your wrist bone and the tendon on the thumb side of your wrist. Apply just enough pressure so you can feel each beat. Do not push too hard or you will obstruct the blood flow.
In adults, call 911 first and do the following: If the person is not breathing but has a pulse, give 1 rescue breath every 5 to 6 seconds or about 10 to 12 breaths per minute.
CPR with rescue breaths
After every 30 chest compressions, give 2 rescue breaths. Tilt the person's head gently and lift the chin up with 2 fingers. Pinch the person's nose. Seal your mouth over their mouth and blow steadily and firmly into their mouth for about 1 second.