4. First Aid Protocols and Interventions
- First Aid Protocols and Interventions
Correct and swift application of first aid can be life-saving. The primary rule is to ensure the rescuer’s safety before attempting any intervention.
4.1 Intervention for Drowning in Water
- Secure the Victim: Remove the person from the water safely. Non-professionals should use objects like a life preserver, rope, or pole to avoid becoming a victim themselves.
- Call for Help: Immediately call 112 (Emergency Services) or have someone else do so.
- Check Consciousness: Gently tap the person’s shoulders and call out to them.
- Check Breathing: Use the “Look-Listen-Feel” method for up to 10 seconds. Open the airway using the head-tilt, chin-lift maneuver.
- Administer Rescue Breaths: If there is no breathing, provide 5 initial rescue breaths. This is a specific recommendation for drowning victims to quickly deliver oxygen to the lungs. Each breath should last about one second and cause the chest to rise.
- Begin CPR: If there is no pulse or signs of life, start Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
- Compressions: Place hands in the center of the chest on the lower half of the breastbone. Perform 30 chest compressions at a rate of 100-120 per minute and a depth of 5-6 cm for adults.
- Breaths: After 30 compressions, provide 2 rescue breaths.
- Cycle: Continue the 30:2 cycle of compressions and breaths without interruption until medical help arrives or the person revives.
- Prevent Hypothermia: Cover the person with dry blankets or clothing to prevent heat loss.
- Ensure Medical Follow-Up: Every victim of a water immersion incident must be taken to a hospital for evaluation due to the risk of secondary drowning.
4.2 Intervention for Foreign Body Obstruction (Heimlich Maneuver)
- Partial Obstruction: If the person can cough, speak, or breathe, encourage them to continue coughing forcefully. Do not slap their back, as this may lodge the object deeper.
- Complete Obstruction: If the person cannot breathe, speak, or cough, or is turning blue, the Heimlich Maneuver is required.
Heimlich Maneuver Protocols
| Victim Group | Procedure |
| Adults & Children (>1 yr) | Stand behind the victim. Make a fist and place the thumb side just above the navel. Grasp the fist with the other hand and deliver 5 quick, forceful inward and upward thrusts. Repeat the cycle of 5 abdominal thrusts and 5 back blows until the object is expelled or the person loses consciousness. |
| Infants (<1 yr) | Lay the infant face-down on your forearm, supporting their head and keeping it lower than their body. Deliver 5 gentle back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. Turn the infant face-up on your other forearm and deliver 5 chest thrusts in the center of the chest using two fingers. Repeat until the object is expelled or the infant loses consciousness. |
| Pregnant or Obese Individuals | Administer chest thrusts instead of abdominal thrusts. Position the fist in the middle of the breastbone and thrust backward. |
| Self-Administered | If alone, make a fist and position it above the navel. Lean over a hard surface like a chair back or table edge and thrust your abdomen against it. |
If any victim of choking loses consciousness, lower them to the ground, call 112, and begin CPR. Before giving rescue breaths, check the mouth for the object and remove it if visible.