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Perfect-Editor-5008 t1_je3y2pb wrote

They no longer recommend giving breaths during CPR. Chest compressions are what is most important.

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hitchy48 t1_je3z6sp wrote

This is the right answer, hopefully gets the upvotes it deserves!

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Vadered t1_je418x5 wrote

This is incorrect, or at least incomplete.

You are correct in that it isn't recommended to give rescue breaths for untrained people, or even trained people who are rusty. Trained first responders DO give rescue breaths. There are a few reasons the general public is advised not to give breaths:

  • There's a certain subset of the population who just won't give CPR at all if they think rescue breathing is required, and compression-only CPR that they are willing to do is infinitely better than perfect CPR they will not.
  • Most people suck at both rescue breathing and chest compressions, and time spent poorly cycling the air in their lungs that is still mostly oxygenated because their blood hasn't been able to circulate well is time better spent trying to circulate it better.
  • There's a risk of transmitting disease without certain equipment that bystanders aren't likely to have on them.

That said, trained first responders are still taught to give rescue breaths, because when done properly, it safely enhances both survival and recovery rates.

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Cyanopicacooki t1_je43pwr wrote

> Most people suck at both rescue breathing

I certainly did until we got the Bluetooth enabled dummies, I was pumping far, far too much breath and in and would probably have caused the recipient to vomit. I get retrained every year, and we spend a lot of time on CPR.

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Vadered t1_je4406d wrote

Thank you for your saving of lives.

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Cyanopicacooki t1_je4gl03 wrote

First aiders don't really save lives, we just try to keep things going until the folk who can save lives turn up.

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MurderTron_9000 t1_je3xydr wrote

It's not all CO2. Each breath we take has enough oxygen in it for a little over 2 people on average, and we don't absorb all of it.

As for why it's not recommended to give breaths anymore and simply do compressions, it's because generally the blood has enough oxygen still in it to circulate with compressions and keep the brain from dying for a good few minutes. You just need to keep it pumping.

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BurnOutBrighter6 t1_je3yunj wrote

>Isnt the air you exhale CO2?

No. It has a little less oxygen and a little more CO2 than what you breathe in, but still much more than enough oxygen to be more useful than nothing.

  • Regular air (what you breathe in) is 21% oxygen and about 0.04% CO2.
  • What you breathe out is still 16% oxygen, and about 4% CO2.

So what you breathe out is still only 4% CO2! And it still contains about 3/4 of the oxygen you breathed in, too. Yes using fresh air would be better, but there's no good way to force in fresh air with no equipment. Delivering 16% oxygen with 4% CO2 by mouth is the best available easy option and better than nothing.

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Redshift2k5 t1_je3xz05 wrote

We don't use up ALL the oxygen in a breath of air.

There's certainly LESS oxygen available, but some is better than none.

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shaneknysh t1_je3y4f4 wrote

While your exhalation contains more CO2 than the atmosphere it still contains more than enough oxygen for the cpr recipient.

However, a lot of first aid training now teaches compression only CPR, without breathing assistance.

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a098273 t1_je3ztvv wrote

An exhaled breath has enough oxygen in it for a second person to breath.

To those saying rescue breaths are no longer recommended, they still are recommended, just not for untrained bystanders like someone being instructed by a 911 operator.

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NateKashLivesFast t1_je470rn wrote

To inflate the lungs and create a breathing pattern to keep blood circulating and stop your brain from dying.

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Flair_Helper t1_je4aqyp wrote

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