The Common Terminologies Used in Basic Life Support - Essay Example

Instruction (Training) Manual BLS affiliation Manual objectives Define the common terminologies used in Basic life support Outline the chain of survival in adults Audience: University student Introduction Several people have always been faced with a sudden loss of conscious in their place of work, hotels, church, and school among other locations. A sudden loss of consciousness is usually attributed to loss of enough blood supply to vital organs in the body or oxygen to the brain tissues. Such occurrences occasionally result in death if not managed quickly. To avert such deaths and related complications, it is very imperative for everybody to have the knowledge and skill in basic life support. Basic life support thus offers a quick and a safe method of assisting an individual who is choking, fainted, in a stroke and cardiac arrest. Definition of common terms Basic life support refers to the rapidly performed interventions by either a health worker or layperson to ensure recognition of common emergencies and manage them. In essence, basic life support entails all the activities that an individual will do to help another person who is in acute cardio-respiratory failure (Docherty & Hall, 2002). Resuscitation is the process of attempting to restore all the vital signs through a mechanical, physiological or pharmacological method. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is the external maintenance of respiration and blood circulation during a cardiac arrest by artificial ventilation and chest compression. Cardiac arrest is the abrupt cessation of the heart activity and blood circulation. This can be recognised in an individual if he has the following signs: absent arterial pulse, loss of consciousness and loss of blood pressure. Respiratory arrest is the cessation of breathing that eventually leads to cardiac arrest within a short time. The four major life-threatening emergencies include; acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), sudden cardiac arrest, foreign body airway obstruction and stroke. Adult chain of survival The adult chain of survival encompasses five basic steps that include early recognition of emergencies like activating the emergency services, starting early cardiopulmonary resuscitation, as well as early defibrillation within five minutes of collapse. In addition, it involves early advanced care and post resuscitation care. The primary purposes of following adult chain of survival include helping in emergencies, it preserves life, preventing the injury from complicating and promoting recovery. The early access to the individual helps the first aider to recognise the early warning signs e.g. chest pain and respiratory arrest. Early institution of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has a significant positive impact on improving the individual survival. Early defibrillation shall help in improving the survival rate of individuals with ventricular fibrillations. Early advanced care providers bring equipments that help to; support ventilation, establishing intravenous access, administering drugs, controlling arrhythmias as well as stabilizing the victim for transport. Post resuscitation care is usually done in the intensive care unit to stabilize the victim further (R. A. Berg et al., 2010). BLS sequence guidelines The guidelines involved in BLS include four steps namely scene safety, stimulate, shout for help and starting cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Safety is the first rule in basic life support. Make sure that the site that you are in is safe for both you and the victim. This can be achieved by assessing the road, corridors among others for any eminent threat. Stimulate the victim by tapping the victim on the shoulder and shouting, “are you okay?” check and see if the victim is breathing, not breathing or gasping. Check for the presence of pulse around the neck, if there is no pulse within 10 seconds then start chest compressions. Chest compression is vital to both the heart and the brain since early chest compressions can immediately circulate oxygen that is in the blood stream to these vital organs (Connolly, et al., 2007). Quality chest compression can be achieved when the hand is placed well on the chest. Hands should be in the central position of the chest, and the second hand on top of the first hand. The compression should go to a depth of at least 2 inches and is pushed hard at a rate of 100push/minute. Thirty compressions should be made in a minute and allow the chest to recoil. Push hard and fast as well as allowing the chest to recoil Airway should be kept patent through head tilt, chin lift manoeuvre. This manoeuvre prevents the tongue from falling back and enables the airway to remain open. In individuals with suspected spinal injury, jaw thrust manoeuvre is the best since it prevents further spinal damage. Two ventilations are provided for each cycle as well as 10-12 breaths/min. For a cycle to be counted as complete, you should do 30 compressions and two ventilation in a minute. After every five cycles reassess the patient, and resume cardiopulmonary resuscitation (Association, 2005). Breathing /ventilation Defibrillation is necessary for victims with fibrillations (abnormal heart rhythm) on the heart. Defibrillation is done using a defibrillator that acts by shocking the victim and returning the heart rate to a normal rhythm. The steps involved in defibrillation include selecting the required joule, apply gel the paddles, charge the defibrillator, place the pads well and shock the victim. If the client resumes regular breathing, put him in the recovery position following these steps to avoid injuries. Step one Step two Step three Stroke This is sudden numbness or weakness the limbs usually on one side of the body that is affected and the individual attacked presents with sudden confusion. Moreover, the individuals occasionally have trouble speaking or understanding instructions. Normal person An individual with stroke Stroke BLS Management of stroke is better when recognised early to prevent it from complicating and destroying other vital organs. Immediately do random blood sugars test since hypoglycaemia is the leading cause of stroke. If a person is hypoglycaemic then immediately administer glucose powder under the tongue since it will be absorbed fast. Shout for help and call the emergency medical rescue team. Management of Foreign body airway obstruction Any obstruction in the airway should be managed vigorously since it can lead to hypoxia and death within a short time. In a conscious patient, ask the patient “are you choking?” then provide abdominal thrust manoeuvre (Heimlich manoeuvre) until the foreign body is dislodged. This is done by placing one fist above the victims navel with your thumb against the abdomen. Cover the fist with the other hand and thrust up with force (Nolan, 2008). Abdominal thrust Another method of managing a person who is suffering from foreign body airway obstruction is by doing chest thrust. This type of manoeuvre is mostly applied to the following victims; women who are in the advanced stage of pregnancy, victims who are very obese and children who are younger than one year of age. The chest thrust is done by gently but firmly tapping him on the back until the foreign body gets dislodged. If the adult victim with foreign body airway obstruction becomes unresponsive, basic life support kicks in. Each time the airway is opened during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the rescuer should look for an object in the victims mouth and remove it as quickly as possible (M. D. Berg et al., 2010). Reference Association, A. H. (2005). Part 4: Adult Basic Life Support. Circulation, 112, IV–19–IV–34. Berg, M. D., Schexnayder, S. M., Chameides, L., Terry, M., Donoghue, A., Hickey, R. W., … Hazinski, M. F. (2010). Part 13: Pediatric basic life support: 2010 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. Circulation. Berg, R. A., Hemphill, R., Abella, B. S., Aufderheide, T. P., Cave, D. M., Hazinski, M. F., … Swor, R. A. (2010). Part 5: Adult basic life support: 2010 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. Circulation. Connolly, M., Toner, P., Connolly, D., & McCluskey, D. R. (2007). The “ABC for life” programme - teaching basic life support in schools. Resuscitation, 72, 270–279. Docherty, B., & Hall, S. (2002). Basic life support and AED. Prof Nurse, 17, 705–706. Nolan, J. P. (2008). Basic life support. Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology, 21, 194–199. Read More