I was appalled by the comments of Mr Watson Duke recently, when he suggested that the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service contingent in Tobago was negligent in the Argyle Falls drownings. He cited the cause of negligence to be the unavailability of oxygen for one of the victims.
As far as I know, the most effective element of resuscitation in a near-drowning victim is the mouth-to-mouth “kiss of life” where the rescuer blows air into the mouth of the victim, while pinching their nostrils shut and pumping this air flow out. The process is repeated several times.
The science behind this procedure lies in the fact that exhaled air contains 300 times a carbon dioxide level (3.0 per cent) compared to that of atmospheric air which we inhale. Inhaled air contain a carbon dioxide level amounting to 0.03 per cent.
A breathing centre in the brain (medulla oblongata) is stimulated by increased carbon dioxide levels. This forms the basis of the body’s constant homoeostatic control of our normal breathing rate. This is just one aspect of the creator’s power as described in Psalm 139:14, where David exclaims “I am fearfully and wonderfully made!”
When someone attempts mouth-to-mouth resuscitation early enough, where breathing may have stopped or is about to cease, the high carbon dioxide content of the air exhaled into the lungs of the victim, is able to jump-start the brain’s breathing centre and so restart the breathing of the victim. At this critical stage, it is carbon dioxide that makes the difference—not oxygen.
I suggest that Mr Duke does his research before trying to deflate the morale of our gallant responders. It might also serve him well to do a First Aid and AED course with the Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross.