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What Are the Three Different Types of CPR?


CPR is usually classified depending on whom it is applied. Applying CPR using the wrong technique can do more harm than good and it is why you should always make sure that you know the age of the person you are delivering lifesaving CPR to. If you cannot find somebody that can tell you the age of the person, you can simply guess what technique to use based on the size of the victim. In fact, there are some children who are under the age of eight years old, but are big enough to make it possible for adult CPR to be applied on them. Thus, as long as you are not too far off with your guess, you should be okay in your delivery of CPR.




In this article, I am going to look at the three common types of CPR that you should learn about.

Adult CPR
CPR is a fairly easy procedure that can be performed by anybody provided they have some training on how to do it. Laypeople usually deliver the process with different levels of efficiency and that is why it is advisable to always call an emergency medical service before you start the process. For instance, if you are located in the US, calling 911 ensures that an emergency medical service is dispatched to your location. Besides that, calling 911 is important because the operator can guide you through the process in case you are not conversant with how to do it. Even if you know what to do, letting the operator guide you through the process can increase your chances of success a lot.
To deliver CPR to an adult, you are supposed to place one hand on the center of the chest and the other hand over the other one. You should use the heel of your hand to deliver compressions with adequate force that can result in quality chest compressions. Perform the compressions as fast and as hard as you can at the rate of 100 to 120 compressions a minute. After every 15 compressions, you should give two mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths

Child CPR
Child CPR is usually applied on children who are under the age of eight years but older than one year. Sometimes, child CPR is referred by the name pediatric resuscitation protocol. The child should be weighing below 121 pounds. If the child is weight more than this, then adult CPR should be applied on them.

Like in the case of adults, it is important to call emergency medical service when you are starting this process. You should be careful with the way you provide rescue breaths because children under this age group usually have very delicate airways. You should also take precaution to ensure that you don’t tilt their heads back too far.

Infant CPR
This is the most complex of all the types of CPR because babies have very fragile bones and are generally fragile and weak. The first step you need to take is to ensure that the infant is actually unconscious and you can do this by flicking the souls of their feet or by shouting. You should never shake them.

In an infant, it is important to tilt their head back a little before you provide rescue breaths. You should use your cheeks to puff air into the infant’s airways to avoid breathing too heavily into their lungs. Compressions should be provided using two fingers. You can use CPR manikins to learn how to do this more effectively.