You find an unconcious person on the ground. She has no pulse and no signs of breathing. Do you perform CPR?

Question

And what if:

a) her face is blue
or
b) she has a huge gunshot wound in her chest
or
c) her tongue is sticking out
or
d) there's maggots and flies all over her body

Answer 1

Yes to all, except if there's maggots and flies all over her body in addition to other obvious signs of death like rigor mortis. If there was just maggots and flies and no other signs of death I'd still perform CPR. This is what we are trained to do as EMTs. Only a doctor can declare someone dead. You'd be surprised how dead someone can appear while still being save-able.

You don't know how the maggots and flies got there. Obviously they probably got there because she's deader than heck, but you don't know for a fact. Maybe she liked taking maggot baths. I'd get over how gross it is and just do it for the sake of it.

Before performing CPR I'd also call 911, send someone for an AED, then check her mouth to see if anything is obstructing her airway.

Answer 2

YES.. except for the one with maggots
I've performed CPR on people who were blue... You don't know how long that person has been blue. Could have been just a few seconds. With a gunshot wound, CPR would be a must, that person needs the extra oxygen because of the loss of blood. Although the mouth to mouth would be more important than chest compressions. The tongue sticking out sounds like a seizure. But if they have no pulse, you still need to perform CPR.
If you were like this, wouldn't you want someone to at least try?

Answer 3

If she has no pulse and no signs of breathing you should first:
1.) Check to see if the area is safe for you to go near before you even get close enough to check pulse/signs for breathing.

2.) Lay her on her back and check to see if there's anything in her mouth preventing her from breathing. If there is, do a finger sweep to attempt to get it out.

3.) Call your local fire department to get some quick help, a cellular phone or speaker phone is great, as you can talk to the people while you work.

a) If her face is blue it means she's choking on something.

b) If she has a gunshot wound it means she's been shot, but if she's no pulse and no signs of breathing she's evidently already dead.

c) Tongue is sticking out? This has nothing to do with any situation anyways.

d) It means she's been dead for a long time.

But keep in mind that if the person has absolutely no pulse whatsoever and she's not breathing she's definitely dead. The only way to actually bring somebody back after the heart has stopped is to really quickly use a defribulator. Chances are if you walked in and already found her with no pulse and no breathing that, even if you get the heart to beat again, there's a high chance of brain damage.

Answer 4

First check if person is breathing by putting hand on their heart and check for heartbeat, or hold wrist and check for a pulse. Don't waste time call 911 . Check if persons airways are if person is choking .check mouth Time is crucial so .. immediately perform CPR .. For question B call 911 and try to sop bleeding by covering wound and applying pressure. Also in all cases cover person with your coat or blanket to keep them warm and preventing shock. For "c" sounds like a seizure call 911.. Finally for D question obviously the person has been dead for a while and don't touch because of bacteria, call police.

Answer 5

AFTER calling 911 or screaming for someone else nearby to call 911.
a) yes
b) I doubt it would be feasable to attempt CPR with a huge gun shot wound in the chest
c) If it is swolen I would attempt it but if it is due to an allergic reaction, it might not do any good (still once started, you aren't supposed to stop untill help arrives, or you can no longer physically carry on)
d) No. Dead too long and would obviously be of no use to attempt other than risking infection or spread of disease from the rotting corpse to me.

Answer 6

CPR after unwitnessed arrest has a miserably low save rate under the best of circumstances. There's certainly no reason to try on people who've obviously been dead a while.

Answer 7

If they have a fairly regular pulse while conscienceless, the no. However, and this is if they are breathing, their pulse is weak, only do chest compressions until an ACD arrives. Hope this helps!

Answer 8

a) Yes
b) No, performing chest massage would almost certainly do more damage.
c) Unsure. Maybe reach in and try to clear away any obstruction?
d) She's probably dead.

In any case. begin by screaming, "HELP! Call 911!"

Answer 9

Dial 911 immediately.

Answer 10

You call 911