First Aid Techniques

Things to Keep in Mind During CPR

In our previous posts “CPR & how to perform Parts 1 too 3” we described how to perform CPR “Cardio Pulminary Resuscitation” on all age groups, but what if the victim was “Pregnant? You had a broken arm? they begin to Vomit? Have a broken Jaw? or have a Stoma? We can’t prepare you for every outcome that you might encounter so we’ll do our best to help you with the big ones that we run into. Lets look at them one by one and give you options to help improve our chances of survival.


Vomiting:Vomiting can occur from just about anything, but most commonly during CPR its a build up of too much Air in the stomach, when the unconscious person vomits there is a risk that the vomit may enter the lungs, this is called “Aspiration“. To avoid Aspiration give breaths only until the chest starts to rise, once the chest rises stop.

What to Do:

  1. Turn the persons head & body together as one “H.A.IN.E.S Technique” onto the persons side.”Let the vomit drain out”
  2. Quickly wipe the persons mouth clean
  3. Roll the person onto their back once again and continue CPR

Mouth to Nose / Stoma Breathing:There are many reasons why you may not be able to seal your mouth well over the other persons mouth to give rescue breaths. Injured mouth or jaw, mouth shut too tight, your mouth is to small, or blood coming from their mouth, in any case there is a simple step to remedy the situation.

What to Do:

  1. Block the mouth to stop air from escaping & seal your mouth around the persons nose, give a breath to make the chest rise.
  2. If the victim has a “Stoma” it is the same technique but this time block “Both the Nose & Mouth” and give a breath through the Stoma

One Handed Compression’s: Some rescuers might be injured themselves “Broken arm / Wrist” or may have other medical conditions that prevent them from doing a proper two handed compression technique “Arthritis, lack of upper body strength” for these reasons you can still do CPR by using One hand.

What to Do:

  1. Place the heel of one hand in the middle of the persons chest
  2. Grasp the wrist of the hand on the chest or place your free hand behind your back
  3. Begin compression’s pushing Hard & Fast
  4. Keep your compression arm as strait as possible to keep position.

CPR for a Pregnant Woman: CPR for a pregnant woman is identical to any form of CPR with placing one or two hands in the center of the chest pushing hard & fast giving 30 compression’s & 2 breaths. If you have a soft object that you can place under the woman’s “Right Hip” Raise the hip about 3-4 inches or 7-10 cm’s, “Do Not interrupt CPR to find an object” just continue CPR as you normally would.
In any emergency just remember to Protect Yourself!!! Call 911!!! Don’t Waste Time!!!
Swoop into First Aid and give a breath of Life, let first aid training in Edmonton be your Saving Grace.


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