4.2. Manual Methods of Respiration

Principle of manual respiration methods

- Breathing out

By squeezing the chest and thus the lungs, the respiratory air is forced out of the lungs and a negative pressure is created.

- Breathing in

With relieving external pressure, the chest, as a result of its flexibility, returns to its original position, the lungs expand and surrounding air is aspirated.

Mistakes with the manual methods

- The breathing phases are not deep enough.
- The breathing rhythm is not observed.
- The movements of the arms are anatomically wrong.
- The respiration movements are not carried out evenly.

Method in prone position

- Put the injured person in prone position.

- Bend the arms of the injured person and put them down on the floor.

- Turn the head of the injued person carefully to the side and put it on his bent arms.

- Make the respiratory tracts of the injured person accessible.

- Kneel down on one knee by the head of the injured person.

- Put your hands flat on the back of the injured person just above the waist your thumbs paralleling the injured person's spinal column.

Figure 6 - Correct position before manual respiration

- Begin with breathing out your body shifting slightly forward and thus exercising a moderate pressure. (This way, the chest of the injured person is pressed against the floor and the lungs are squeezed together with the chest. The breathing air can escape through the respiratory tracts of the injured person.)

Figure 7 - Manual respiration (breathing out)

- For breathing in, pressure must be relieved suddenly by taking the hands of the injured person's back.

- Get hold of the upper arms of the injured person and lift them slightly. (This enables that the lungs and chest of the injured person expand and the surrounding air flows into the lungs.

Bild 8 - Letting go of the chest

Bild 9 - Manual respiration (breathing in)

- This action must be repeated 12 to 16 times a minute.

Method in dorsal position

It is the most awkward and least effective of all methods of artificial respiration.

- Put the injured person in flat dorsal position.

- Place a bundle of rolled up clothings or a folded blanket under the shoulder blades of the injured person.

- Clean the external air ways from foreign bodies.

- With the help of a handkerchief or a mull bandage, pull the tongue of the injured person out of his mouth and tie it up on the chin.

- Carefully turn the head of the injured person to the side.

- Kneel down behind the head of the injured person. (Your face towards the injured person.)

- Hold the arms of the injured person right above the elbows and put his arms next to each other on his chest.

- For breathing out, the rescuer shifts his body forward, this way exercising pressure on the chest of the injured person. (By this, the chest of the injured person is squeezed and the air pressed out of his lungs.)

- For breathing in, both arms of the injured person are moved in the widest possible circular movement sideways over his head to the floor. (The chest and the lungs of the injured person expand and air can be drawn in.)

- Then hold the forearms of the injured person right below his elbows and move his chest. In doing so, press the chest down.

- Repeat this action 12 to 16 times per minute.

Why should manual respiration be applied only in exceptional cases?

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