Giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation

If you try to resuscitate someone using chest compressions only, you can’t go wrong. People who provide first aid don’t necessarily have to give the person rescue breaths: But if you feel confident that you can do it, for instance following a first aid course, you should combine chest compressions with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation – at a ratio of “30 to 2”: After doing 30 chest compressions, you give the unconscious person two rescue breaths, followed by 30 chest compressions, and so on. It’s very important to give the rescue breaths quickly, so you don’t interrupt the chest compressions for long. The rescue breaths shouldn’t take longer than ten seconds in total.

This is how to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation:

• Gently tilt the person’s head back. Use one hand to hold their chin and lift it up, then keep their mouth open using your thumb.
• Place your other hand on their forehead and pinch their nose with your index finger (pointer finger) and thumb.
• Take a normal breath, cover and seal their open mouth with yours, and blow into their mouth for about one second. Their chest should rise visibly when you breathe into their mouth, and sink again as soon as you move away.