How to Check the Pulse, Breathing and Airway

Whether you are a trained professional or a good Samaritan bystander, when you respond to the scene of an accident, you must remember your ABCs. A: Establish an airway for the victim. B: Check for signs of breathing. C: Check the victim for a pulse.

Instructions

Establish an Airway

• 1

  Survey the scene for hazards, look for other bystanders to help and ask someone to call 911.

• 2

  Don a pair of rubber or plastic gloves, if possible.

• 3

  Request consent to treat from a conscious victim. Consent is implied if the victim is unconscious.

• 4

  Place the victim on his back. Put one of your hands on the victim's forehead, and place two fingers below the victim's chin.

• 5

  Lift an adult victim's chin gently upward to approximately a 75-degree angle to open the airway. Lift a youth victim's chin gently upward to approximately a 60-degree angle. Lift an infant victim's chin gently upward to approximately a 45-degree angle. An infant is anyone younger than 1 year old.

• 6

  Check the airway for obstructions such as vomit or pieces of food. Scoop any obstruction from the victim's airway or mouth using your gloved index finger as a scoop.

Check for Breathing

• 7

  Check for signs of breathing for 5 seconds.

• 8

  Look for signs of breathing. Watch the victims chest to see if it is rising and falling, which would indicate breathing is occurring.

• 9

  Listen for signs of breathing by placing your ear near the victim's nose. Weak breathing may not produce obvious rising and falling of the chest, but you may still be able to hear the breathing.

• 10

  Place your hand in front of the victim's nose and mouth to see if you can feel warm air being expelled during breathing. If you have a mirror, such as one from a cosmetic case, hold it under the victim's nose and see if it fogs with expelled breath.

• 11

  Give two rescue breaths, and again check for signs of breathing for 5 seconds.

Check for Circulation

• 12

  Check for signs of circulation by checking for a pulse.

• 13

  Find a pulse on an adult on the carotid artery, which is located in the neck. Place your index and middle finger on the victim's Adam's apple, trace over to the side of the neck and press firmly just under the jaw line until you locate the carotid artery.

• 14

  Locate a pulse on a child on the inside of the upper arm using your index and middle finger.

• 15

  Begin rescue breathing if you find signs of circulation but no signs of breathing.

Deciding Between Rescue Breathing or CPR

• 16

  Determine whether there are signs of circulation.

• 17

  Check if there are signs of breathing.

• 18

  Begin CPR if there are no signs of circulation.

• 19

  Start rescue breathing if there are signs of circulation but no signs of breathing.

• 20

  Perform rescue breathing on an adult by giving one rescue breath every 5 seconds. After performing rescue breathing for 1 minute, check for signs of breathing and circulation for a maximum of 10 seconds.

• 21

  Administer rescue breathing to a child or infant as you would for an adult as described in Section 4, Step 5, except increase the frequency of breaths to every 3 seconds.

• 22

  As long as there are signs of circulation, continue rescue breathing until the victim resumes breathing on his own or another rescuer arrives. If during any of your checks for breathing and circulation there are no signs of circulation, begin CPR immediately.