BREATHING EMERGENCIES

Respiratory Distress & Respiratory Arrest ■Types of breathing emergencies ■Respiratory distress is a condition in which breathing becomes difficult ■Most common breathing emergency ■Can lead to respiratory arrest ■Respiratory arrest is when breathing has stopped ■

Causes ■Choking ■Illness ■Chronic conditions ■Electrocution ■Irregular heartbeat ■Heart attack ■Injury to head or brain stem ■Allergic reactions ■Drowning ■Emotional distress

Asthma ■The inflammation of the air passages that results in a temporary narrowing of the airways that carry oxygen to the lungs ■Exercise, cold air, allergens or other irritants are the causes ■Third ranking cause of hospitalization ■Hoarse whistling sounds when exhaling (wheezing) ■People diagnosed with asthma has medication which reduce the swelling and mucus production in the airways

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ■Long term lung disease encompassing both chronic bronchitis and emphysema ■Airway becomes partly blocked and the air sacs in the lunge lose their ability to fill with air ■No cure for COPD ■Worsen over time ■Most common cause if COPD is cigarettes

Common Signals of COPD ■Coughing large volume of mucus ■Tendency to tire easily ■Loss of appetite ■Bent posture with shoulders raised and lips pursed ■Fast pulse ■Confusion

Emphysema ■Disease that involves damage to the air sacs in the lungs ■Shorten of breath ■Feels restless, confused, and weak

Bronchitis ■Inflammation of the main air passages to the lung ■Can be acute or chronic ■To be diagnosed you must have a cough with mucus on most days of the month for at least 3 months ■ signs: –Chest discomfort –Fatigue –Cough with mucus –Wheezing –Fever –Shorten of breath

Choking ■The universal sign of choking is both hand grasping their neck ■If person is coughing forcefully, let him or her try to cough up the object ■Person with a complete block airway needs immediate care ■Give a combination of 5 back blows followed by 5 abdominal thrusts to help clear the airway

Back blows ■Position yourself slightly behind the person ■Provide support by placing one arm diagonally across the chest and bend the person forward at the waist ■Firmly strike the person between the shoulder blades with the heel of your other hand

Abdominal thrusts ■Stand or kneel behind the person and wrap your arm around the wait ■Local navel with one or two fingers ■Make fist and place thumb side against the middle of the person abdomen just about the navel ■Grab your fist with other hand and give quick upward thrust

■Continue 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrust until the object is dislodged, speak, breath, or cough ■For children use less force when giving back blows and abdominal thrusts

A large or pregnant person ■If to large to reach around or pregnant, give chest thrusts instead ■Just like abdominal thrusts expect for placement of hands ■Place fist at the center of person’s breastbone that grab your fist with other hand

Alone and Choking ■Bend over and press your abdomen against a firm, object, such as a chair or railing ■Alternatively give yourself abdominal thrusts using your hand

Choking Infant (back blows) ■Position infant face up on forearm ■Place one hand and forearm on the child’s back, cradling the head ■Turn the infant over so they are facing down along your forearm ■Lower your arm to your thigh ■Give 5 firm back blows with heel of hand

Choking infant (chest thrusts) ■Place infant in face up position ■Lower to your thigh ■Place pads of two fingers in center of chest and give 5 chest compression

Conscious choking person become unconscious ■If they become unconscious carefully lower to the ground and open the moth and look for object ■If object is seen remove with your finger ■If not object is seen, open person airway by tilting the head and give 2 breaths ■If chest does not rise being CPR ■After compression, look for object in person’s mouth