|  | Conditions Treatments | Medical Conditions

Types of Basic Life Support

Basic types of life support training are required for many jobs such as school teachers or medical personnel. These are often basic skills that can be learned in a classroom setting in just a few hours. The skills might be basic but are very important when it comes to saving lives in many emergency situations from car wrecks to swimming accidents.

  1. The Heimlich Maneuver

    • The Heimlich maneuver is meant to save choking victims. Sometimes food is inhaled or becomes caught in someone's throat and is too far down to remove with fingers. To enact the Heimlich maneuver, go behind the choking victim, place your arms around him and position your hands locked in a fist position under the ribcage. Thrust in and upward several times in an attempt to force air up and into the throat, which should dislodge the food.

    CPR

    • Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is meant to jump-start breathing and circulation when a person has stopped breathing and has a very slow or no pulse. This can be performed by emergency personnel or by trained average citizens. CPR courses are given at community centers and sometimes hospitals or for certain jobs such as lifeguard training. CPR involves chest compression techniques and mouth-to-mouth breathing techniques. CPR is most often used in drowning cases or for someone having a heart attack.

    Opening Airways and Locating Pulse

    • One of the basic types of life support is being able to locate a pulse. It's important to be able to find the pulse points and to be able to treat bleeding victims by cutting off the blood flow.

      Another of the basics is to be able to recognize when a person isn't breathing adequately or at all, then take the necessary steps to attempt to start breathing.

    Recognizing And Handling An Emergency

    • One of the most basic life support techniques is recognizing an emergency and then handling it as quickly and efficiently as possible. This involves dialing 9-1-1 and keeping calm so that you can provide all of the necessary information to the emergency operators. You may also be instructed to perform CPR or the Heimlich maneuver via instructions over the phone.

      You should also be able to recognize common signs for stroke, heart attack, choking or poisoning. If the victim doesn't have a heart beat and you are certified, you may be required to use a defibrillator to start the heart.

Medical Conditions - Related Articles