Rescue breathing is the technique of breathing for a nonbreathing person.  It is a way of breathing air into someone to supply the oxygen needed to survive.  Rescue breathing is given to victims who are not breathing but still have a pulse.

Rescue breathing works because the air you breathe out still have oxygen in it.  The air itself has about 21 percent oxygen, but when you breathe it in, your body uses only a small part of it.  The air you breathe out and into the victim has about 16 percent oxygen.  That is enough to keep someone alive.

Before beginning any assistance to any injured individual contact or have someone else contact the EMS system.

If you cannot see, hear or feel any signs of breathing, give 2 full breaths immediately to get air into the victim’s lungs.  Then check the victim’s circulation by feeling for a pulse.  If the victim is not breathing and/or does not have a pulse you can discontinue rescue breathing and contact the EMS system.

If the victim is not breathing but has a pulse, start rescue breathing.  To give breaths, keep the victim’s airway open with the head-tilt/chin-lift.  This maneuver opens the airway by moving the tongue away from the back of the throat.  It also moves the soft tissue flap called the epiglottis from the opening of the trachea (windpipe).  With the hand that is on the forehead to tilt the head back, use the thumb and index finger to gently pinch the victim’s nose shut.  Next, make a tight seal around the victim’s mouth with your mouth.  Breathe slowly into the victim until you see the victim’s chest rise.   Each breath should last about 1 to 1 ½  seconds, with a pause in between to let the air flow back out.  To ensure that your breaths are actually going in, watch the victim’s chest rise each time you breathe into the victim.

If you do not see the victim’s chest rise and fall as you give breaths, you might not have the head tilted far enough back to open the airway.  Retilt the victim’s head and try again to give breaths.

Check for a pulse after giving the 2 full breaths.  If the victim has no pulse, he or she must be removed from the water as soon as possible so that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be performed.  (Taking a RED CROSS CPR class is highly recommended.)  If the victim has a pulse but is not breathing, continue the rescue breathing by giving 1 breath every 5 seconds.  A good way to time the breaths is to count “one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand.”  Then take a breath yourself and breathe onto the victim.  Counting this way ensures that you give 1 breath every 5 seconds.  Remember, breath slowly into the victim.  Each breath should last 1 to 1 ½ seconds.  After 1 minute of rescue breathing (about 12 breaths) check the pulse again to make sure that the heart is still beating.  If the victim still has a pulse but is not breathing, continue rescue breathing.  Check the pulse every minute.  Do not stop rescue breathing until or unless one of the following occurs:

-             The victim starts to breathe on his or her own.

-             The victim has no pulse.  Start CPR

-             Another trained rescuer takes over for you.

-             EMS personnel arrive on the scene to take over.

-             You are too exhausted to continue.

This is only an informational page and should not be used to perform Rescue Breathing without further instruction from a Red Cross class.

Taken from American National Red Cross “Swimming & Water Safety ”, 2004