Check for breathing

The third step is to check for breathing.

You can check for breathing by Look, Listen, and Feel.

Push down on the forehead while lifting up the chin until the jaw is pointing straight up. Now place your ear over the victim's mouth and LOOK, LISTEN & FEEL for breathing for 3 to 5 seconds. LOOK at the chest to see if it is rising, LISTEN for sounds of breathing and FEEL for air coming from the victim.

If the victim is not breathing, you can perform CPR. It can save a person's life by restoring breathing and circulation until advanced life support can be provided by medical care providers.

Whenever CPR is needed, remember to call for emergency medical assistance. CPR courses teach you to call first (which means to call 911 or your local emergency number before providing treatment) for adult emergencies and call fast (which means to provide 1 minute of care and then call 911 or the emergency number) for emergencies in infants and children.

What CPR Is
The letters in CPR stand for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a combination of rescue breathing (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation) and chest compressions. If a child is not breathing or circulating blood adequately, CPR can restore circulation of oxygen-rich blood to the brain. Without oxygen, permanent brain damage or death can occur in less than 8 minutes.

CPR may be necessary for children during many different emergencies, including accidents, near-drowning, suffocation, poisoning, smoke inhalation, electrocution injuries, and suspected sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Three Parts of CPR
CPR has three basic parts that are distinguished by these easy-to-remember letters: ABC. A is for airway, B is for breathing, and C is for circulation.  

• A is for airway. The victim's airway must be open for breathing to be restored. The airway may be blocked when a child loses consciousness or may be obstructed by food or some other foreign object. In a CPR course, participants learn how to open the airway and position the child so the airway is ready for rescue breathing. The course will include what to do to clear the airway if you believe an infant or child has choked and the airway is blocked.
  
   
• B is for breathing. Rescue breathing is begun when a person is not breathing. A person performing rescue breathing is essentially breathing for the victim by forcing air into his lungs. This procedure includes breathing into the victim's mouth at correct intervals and checking for signs of life. A CPR course will review correct techniques and procedures for rescuers to position themselves to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to infants, children, and adults.
  
   
• C is for circulation. Sometimes rescue breathing alone is enough to keep a child alive until help arrives. However, if you have properly administered rescue breathing, but still see no other signs of life, chest compressions are needed to start circulation. This procedure involves pushing on the chest to help circulate blood and maintain blood flow to major organs. Chest compressions should be coordinated with rescue breathing. A CPR course will teach you how to perform chest compressions in infants, children, and adults and how to coordinate the compressions with rescue breathing.

IT CAN BE AS EASY AS A- B- C:
A - AIRWAY

• Place victim flat on his/her back on a hard surface.
• Shake victim at the shoulders and shout "are you okay?"
• If no response, call emergency medical system -911 then,
• Head-tilt/chin-lift - open victims' airway by tilting their head back with one hand while lifting up their chin with your other hand.

B - BREATHING

• Position your cheek close to victims' nose and mouth, look toward victims' chest, and
• Look, listen, and feel for breathing (5-10 seconds)
• If not breathing, pinch victim's nose closed and give 2 full breaths into victim's mouth (use microshield).
• If breaths won't go in, reposition head and try again to give breaths. If still blocked, perform abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver)

CONTINUE UNINTERRUPTED UNTIL ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE.