Common Mistakes Among Emergency Responders

1) Performing compression's with ones foot!

Do not stomp your patients back to life....

2) Ignoring Compliance

If your breaths from either yourself or with the assistance of a BVM are not going down into the casualties lungs, do not force it down! A common mistakes is that people forget that when the client exhales, they can't inhale!

So remember to match your breaths to the patients breath, or else face the "puke-usic" (comment if you know what that means!)

3) Not giving oxygen.

There are over 200+ reasons why you shouldn't give someone oxygen, because doing so will cause death. However, your never gonna be sure if your patient has one of those 200+ out on the field. Even then, you are not likely to come across them.

The benefits of oxygen outweigh the risks in an emergency situation, so give it to them.

4) A drowning victim has an obstruction in their throat... wha-??

Only 10% of people (at least that's what I've learned) have drowned with fluid filled lungs. It is fact that most people suffer cardiac arrest before they do anyways. Most people suffer laryngospasms when a little fluid enters the lungs, thus closing the airway, causing the person to drown with no to little fluid in their lungs.

Because of laryngospasms it is impossible to force air into the lungs. The muscles however do relax anywhere from 1 second to even 10 mins after it happens, and that'll be when breaths during CPR should be finally reach the lungs. Long story short, keep trying to get those breaths, but don't panic... it's normal.

5) CPR + AED will save the casualties life

Nope, they are probably not going to make it in all honesty. Remember that the patient is probably going to stay dead with or without you, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try and perhaps you may save that persons life. Once CPR has started you do not give up until EMS or someone else pronounces them dead.

6) EMS can't pronounce somebody dead, it is a physician sanctioned act!

Nope, not anymore. Ambulance teams have nearly similar or identical care when treating someone with cardiac arrest. It usually involves a lot of CPR; because of this, Paramedics can pronounce their patients dead. Student EMS services cannot do it still :P

*My grammar sucks.