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| In the United Kingdom, checking for a pulse is now considered to be ineffective, as it is considered to have a 50-50 chance of being reliable. 'The Resuscitation Council of the UK issued new guidelines for checking for signs of a circulation at the start of 2001. The Council concluded that 'It has been shown that assessment of the carotid pulse is time consuming and leads to an incorrect conclusion (present or absent) in up to 50% of cases. For this reason, training in detection of the carotid pulse as a sign of cardiac arrest is no longer recommended for non-healthcare persons.' Due to this statment, First Aiders (people trained in First Aid) in the United Kingdom are supposed to LOOK for signs of life, for example eye movement and colour. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/health/gigaquiz?pagenum=6&9=&8=&7=&6=&5=&4=&10=&3=&2=a&1=c&infile=firstaid_quick&path=firstaid_quick&state=1&3=b&next_t=answer_q3&%2Fcgi-perl%2Fhealth%2Fgigabuilder%2Ftestquiz.pl%3F.x=47&%2Fcgi-perl%2Fhealth%2Fgigabuilder%2Ftestquiz.pl%3F.y=4 | In the United Kingdom, checking for a pulse is now considered to be ineffective, as it is considered to have a 50-50 chance of being reliable. 'The Resuscitation Council of the UK issued new guidelines for checking for signs of a circulation at the start of 2001. The Council concluded that 'It has been shown that assessment of the carotid pulse is time consuming and leads to an incorrect conclusion (present or absent) in up to 50% of cases. For this reason, training in detection of the carotid pulse as a sign of cardiac arrest is no longer recommended for non-healthcare persons.' Due to this statment, First Aiders (people trained in First Aid) in the United Kingdom are supposed to LOOK for signs of life, for example eye movement and colour. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/health/gigaquiz?pagenum=6&9=&8=&7=&6=&5=&4=&10=&3=&2=a&1=c&infile=firstaid_quick&path=firstaid_quick&state=1&3=b&next_t=answer_q3&%2Fcgi-perl%2Fhealth%2Fgigabuilder%2Ftestquiz.pl%3F.x=47&%2Fcgi-perl%2Fhealth%2Fgigabuilder%2Ftestquiz.pl%3F.y=4 | ||
| First Aid courses in the United Kingdom now advise against checking for a pulse. Some suggest pressing the earlobe of the casualty between the forefinger and thumb, then releasing, to see how quickly the blood flows into it (or indeed to see if it flows at all). If it doesn't flow back into the ear, then the blood is clearly not being pumped around the body, which means CPR is necessary. | First Aid courses in the United Kingdom now advise against checking for a pulse. Some suggest pressing the earlobe of the casualty between the forefinger and thumb, then releasing, to see how quickly the blood flows into it (or indeed to see if it flows at all). If it doesn't flow back into the ear, then the blood is clearly not being pumped around the body, which means CPR is necessary. Others suggest a similar test involving pressing the finger nail. It will turn to white and if it takes a long time for the red colour to return, or not at all, there is bad/no circulation. | ||
Revision as of 12:50, 14 April 2006
ABC is an acronym that stands for Airway, Breathing and Circulation. It is used in many first aid programs to remind first-aiders the order in which to check the body's primary life support systems (breathing and circulation). Below each letter of the acronym is briefly described.
Airway
Check to make sure that the airway is clear, or, open the airway to ensure the tongue (or other obstruction) does not interrupt airflow. If a patient's airway is not cleared, it must be cleared.
Breathing
Check to make sure the patient is breathing. In first aid, the check is usually 10 seconds. If a patient is not breathing but has a pulse, begin Rescue Breathing.
Circulation
Check to make sure the patient has a pulse. If a patient has no pulse, begin CPR. It may also be helpful, if you have another assistant, to stop any major bleeding at this point while CPR is in progress and without delaying prompt CPR.
In the United Kingdom, checking for a pulse is now considered to be ineffective, as it is considered to have a 50-50 chance of being reliable. 'The Resuscitation Council of the UK issued new guidelines for checking for signs of a circulation at the start of 2001. The Council concluded that 'It has been shown that assessment of the carotid pulse is time consuming and leads to an incorrect conclusion (present or absent) in up to 50% of cases. For this reason, training in detection of the carotid pulse as a sign of cardiac arrest is no longer recommended for non-healthcare persons.' Due to this statment, First Aiders (people trained in First Aid) in the United Kingdom are supposed to LOOK for signs of life, for example eye movement and colour. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/health/gigaquiz?pagenum=6&9=&8=&7=&6=&5=&4=&10=&3=&2=a&1=c&infile=firstaid_quick&path=firstaid_quick&state=1&3=b&next_t=answer_q3&%2Fcgi-perl%2Fhealth%2Fgigabuilder%2Ftestquiz.pl%3F.x=47&%2Fcgi-perl%2Fhealth%2Fgigabuilder%2Ftestquiz.pl%3F.y=4
First Aid courses in the United Kingdom now advise against checking for a pulse. Some suggest pressing the earlobe of the casualty between the forefinger and thumb, then releasing, to see how quickly the blood flows into it (or indeed to see if it flows at all). If it doesn't flow back into the ear, then the blood is clearly not being pumped around the body, which means CPR is necessary. Others suggest a similar test involving pressing the finger nail. It will turn to white and if it takes a long time for the red colour to return, or not at all, there is bad/no circulation.
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