In the crucial minutes after someone stops breathing, giving them Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) can keep oxygenated-blood flowing to their brain and potentially save their life.
But if the life-saving technique is not done correctly, it can cause the victim to suffer broken ribs and even die.
This according to Kenny Mohammed, a stalwart in the Health and Safety Field and owner of Kelemarc Sales and Consultancy- a Safety Based Training company in San Fernando.
Speaking to Guardian Media during a CPR demonstration in Point Lisas yesterday, Mohammed said too many people are following the examples they see in the movies and performing CPR without training in cases of emergency.
On Sunday, radio announcer Justin Dookhi drowned at the La Vega Estate in Gran Couva after he attempted to swim across a pond and went under the water.
In video footage of the incident, several people were seen trying to resuscitate Dookhi without success.
“With social media, you see the evidence of people doing the wrong thing and plus you see people mimic some of the things they see in the movies but if someone is not performing the CPR properly, they could break ribs, they could stunt the chances of somebody surviving in cases of drowning, an accident or a fall from heights for example,” Mohammed said.
He explained that CPR was meant to mimic the functions of the heart and lungs and keep someone alive until emergency medical personnel arrive.
The first step in the process is to call out to the person to determine whether they are conscious or not. If the person is unconscious, you must immediately contact an ambulance by calling 811 or instruct someone nearby to call them.
Next, check whether the person is breathing by leaning close to their face and feeling for their breath against your ear.
If the person is not breathing, you then begin chest compressions- by interlocking your hands, placing them in the centre of the sternum (breastbone) and pushing down 30 times.
Then, give two breaths into the mouth while pinching the nostrils shut. Ideally, once you have started CPR, you must continue until an ambulance arrives.
But Mohammed wants the public to know that the “movie” version of how a victim responds to CPR rarely ever happens.
“You will rarely get someone waking up and talking or they start coughing up water or whatever, that is a rare occasion. But what you need to do is ensure that you have oxygenated blood going to the heart at all times because if you don’t have that, the person can go brain dead,” he said.
Mohammed said teachers, parents and even children should know how to perform CPR or at least what should be done in an emergency situation.
“My recommendation to people out there is to ensure that they have formal first aid training, at least basic first aid to ensure that what they are doing to another life is the proper application,” he said.