Knowing what to do when someone goes unconscious and unresponsive is crucial. Until emergency personnel arrive, this may entail monitoring vital signs and determining whether there is a major injury. CPR could be required if the person is not breathing.
Being unconscious is a state of not responding. Even though they may appear to be sleeping, someone who is unconscious may not react to touch, shakes, or loud noises.
Unconsciousness that occurs unexpectedly and may pass quickly is called fainting. Some varieties have far longer lifespans.
One’s vital indicators can fluctuate. If someone stops breathing or has a weak pulse, get medical help right once.
First things to do.
Asking someone out loud if they’re okay should be your initial course of action if they appear unconscious or unresponsive. Give them a little shake if they don’t react. It is advisable to wait for emergency assistance to come before moving a person who may have suffered a spinal cord injury.
Take the following actions in the following order if the person still doesn’t respond:
a. Verify that there are no obstructions in their airway, as indicated by their breathing becoming difficult or high-pitched.
b. Seek indications of their respiration.
c. Look for a heartbeat or pulse. After that, give emergency medical services a call, or have someone else do it. Toll free in the US, dial 911. Take action if the individual:
a. Has a weak or absent pulse and doesn't appear to be breathing
b. Appears to be seriously injured, for example, from extensive bleeding, and does not react or regain consciousness after one minute.Until they ask you to, do not end the call with the emergency services agent.
Look for a first aid tag around the person’s neck and wrists; it may contain information on why they lost consciousness. Give the representative the details listed on the tag.
First Aid Procedures
It’s critical to determine whether the unconscious person is breathing before administering any first aid.
If the individual is breathing
Ask them simple inquiries like their name, birthdate, and today’s date if they appear conscious but otherwise confused.
Should the individual be unable to provide an accurate response, it could indicate a shift in their mental state. Give the emergency services agent this information.
Leave the person alone if you think they might have a spinal injury. Take action to support and still their neck.
Roll the person onto their side in a recovery position if they are breathing and there is no chance that they have suffered a spinal injury. Legs should be adjusted so that the hips and knees make a proper angle. To help maintain an open airway, gently tilt their head back.
If the individual is not breathing
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may need to be administered to an unconscious individual if they are not breathing. Carefully transferring them onto their back while protecting their neck may be required. In the next section, we go over how to administer CPR.
Make a 911 call before to starting CPR.
It’s encouraging if the patient is breathing, coughing, or moving. If none of these things occur, keep performing CPR until help arrives.
Try using one finger to sweep the mouth to get rid of anything that is obstructing the airway if it is visible at the back of the throat or high in the neck. Nothing that is not apparent should be attempted to be swept up or grabbed.
Continue doing chest compressions (CPR) and check to see if the object has come loose if the person is not breathing and has something stuck in their throat.
If the individual has bleeding
Find the injury and apply firm, direct pressure to the affected area if the unconscious person is bleeding profusely in order to inhibit the bleeding. Application of a tourniquet above the bleeding site by anyone competent in doing so will help to halt the bleeding until help arrives.
How to carry out CPR
CPR is an emergency treatment used to revive someone who has lost their pulse and is not breathing. The cardio and pulmonary components of the term “cardiopulmonary resuscitation” are chest compressions and rescue breathing, respectively.
The rescue breath portion of the technique should only be performed by those certified in CPR. Anyone without training should just do chest compressions in steps 1–7 below to lower the risk of damage. Moreover, chest compressions promote oxygen circulation.
Try to rouse the person up again by saying their name aloud and enquiring as to their well-being before administering CPR.
In the event that they don’t respond:
a. Put a single hand on their brow.
b. Underneath their chin, place the fingers of your other hand.
c. Tilt their head back gently. Their tongue should move to avoid obstructing their airway.
Therefore, if the patient might suffer a spinal injury:
a. Near the crown of their head, bend.
b. Put your hands on their faces on either side.
c. Using your fingertips, gently elevate the person’s jaw without moving their neck.
To do CPR on someone whose airway is open, take the following actions:
- On any level, firm surface, place the patient on their back. If they appear to be suffering from a spinal injury, keep their neck safe from large movements.
- Bend so that your torso is over their chest and kneel near to their shoulders.
- Position your hand’s palm and heel in the middle of their chest.
- Interlock your fingers and place your other hand directly on top of the first.
- To increase your upper body strength, push your shoulders forward over your hands while maintaining a straight elbow position.
- Press squarely down on their chest with all of your upper body weight and effort. For adults, press it down at least 2.0 to 2.4 inches, then let go of the pressure. Just one compression is shown here.
- Perform continuous sets of thirty compressions at a rate of one to two per second, or one hundred to one hundred and twenty minutes.
In between sets of 30 compressions, only someone trained in CPR should perform the following actions:
- To maintain an open airway, tilt the person’s head back and elevate their chin.
- Create an airtight seal by pinching their nose and covering their open lips with yours.
- Blow till their chest comes up. This is a single breath. Breathe twice, allowing your lungs to settle in between each breath.
Until help arrives, keep performing the rhythm of 30 compressions and 2 breaths.
Things not to do
When giving first aid, there are a few other things to keep in mind:
a. Never place a cushion beneath the head of someone who is unconscious since this could cause breathing difficulties.
b. Never attempt to sit them up.
c. Never give someone who is unconscious a water splash.
c. Avoid giving them a slap.
d. Never attempt to get them to consume water or any other beverage.
e. Anything that is lodged in the neck but is not visible should not be attempted to be removed by hand. It may become more deeply embedded as a result.
f. Never leave someone unconscious unsupervised. When to call for emergency assistance
If someone is unconscious, call emergency services right away. Only start CPR if the person is not breathing after contacting a trusted source for assistance.
Prior to doing CPR, it is crucial to get assistance if the person:
1. has no pulse, is experiencing a seizure or fit, or has lost bladder or bowel control
2. is expecting and has diabetes In the event that the person regains consciousness, look for additional indications of a major issue, like:
1. difficulty seeing or speaking
2. decreased range of motion in the arms and legs
3. chest pain, irregular heartbeat
4. Ensure that these concerns are communicated to the emergency medical personnel.