How to save a life

Students: Belen Gutierrez, Giuliana Koch

Grade: 6th B

Have you ever had to act during an emergency? We hope your

answer is no, but we never know when we’re gonna have to, so here’s what you must
do in every situation where you’d have to save a life.

CPR

What do I do before applying CPR?

The first thing you have to do is to call an ambulance (the number in Argentina is
107) or ask someone to do it for you so you have more time to assist the person in
need.
Then, ask the person if they are okay. If you don’t receive any response, talk to them
from ear to ear, if they’re still not answering, that means that the person is
unconscious.
Then, you’d have to generate pain stimulus for them to react. If they don’t either way,
immediately check if the person is breathing, you can do it by looking at their chest
movement: if it goes up and down, it means that they’re receiving air. If they are not
breathing, start the CPR.

How to do CPR correctly?

Get on your knees or in a comfortable position on one side of the victim. Then put
your dominant hand open and the other one closed on top, holding the first one and
making pressure (right under the left nipple) without bending your elbows, your
arms must stay firm and straight. Repeat the compressions at a constant pace and
don’t stop doing CPR until the victim takes a big breath or makes disgust and pain
gestures, or until the ambulance arrives. In adults, mouth to mouth breathing is no
longer suggested since it could complicate the situation.
In case the victim is a chil, we must use only one hand, and if it is a baby we must use
the index and middle finger so we do not hurt them with excessive pressure.

Choking
If there’s a choking situation, it is important to pay attention to the person, if it is
coughing or speaking (or crying if it is a baby), it means that the person is able to
breathe, so there’s no need to do anything. Otherwise, when the person can’t speak or
cough and their face turns blue or purple, they are choking. Another common sign of
someone choking, is that they will do the gesture of putting their hands on their
throat.

What to do in case of a choke?

The Heimlich maneuver must be applied quickly. It consists in standing behind the
victim’s back and, with one hand in fist shape and the other hand holding it, doing
force in and up (right under the ribs) until the victim throws up or spits the object.
Babys from 0-2 years: Hold the baby face down on your forearm holding their
face (without obstructing their mouth and nose) and give them five strong blows on
the middle of their scapulas. Then, put the baby face up on your other forearm and
do CPR with just two fingers.
To oneself: With the back of a chair or the corner of a table make the same
movement of the Heimlich maneuver.

Seizure
First of all we have to know that seizures are involuntary movements of neurological
origin that we cannot stop, but must accompany the person until the seizure stops on
its own.
It’s not always necessary to call 107, just when it’s the first time it happens or if the
seizure doesn’t stop. When the person has recurrent seizures and is already
medicated they can talk to their neurologist later.

What to do in case of a seizure?

The first step is to set a timer to measure how long the seizure lasts in order to
communicate it later to a doctor. Then, the area should be clear as much as possible
to prevent the victim from hitting objects in the environment or feeling embarrassed
about being surrounded by people watching.
The most important thing is to protect the head with a pillow or our hands so that it
doesn’t hit the floor, and to put the person on their side to avoid choking. It is a
popular belief that we should try to open their mouth or put something inside of it,
but this must never be done, it is dangerous, the jaw has a lot of pressure, it becomes
very strong and it could cut off a finger if it’s inside the mouth.

What to do when the seizure ends

Once the seizure is over, the person could be exhausted and unconscious, so don’t try
to wake them up. Just let them rest on their side (with one leg crossed over the other
and an arm under their head so the person can’t fall and hit their face) in case the
seizure returns.