One of the activities we were supposed to teach was the operation of the device called the AED.
The basics of first aid are often quite well known to the younger generation but the AEDs or automatic external defibrillators are not so popular in our society so far so if someone does not know what is going on in this case, then I encourage you to read :)
At the beginning, you should realize the chances of simple cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which we lead through chest massage and rescue breaths is well, slight. This is around 10% -20% for an injured person with sudden cardiac arrest. Therefore, in order to increase these numbers, the resulting devices that allow you to increase this number. Every percent is human life, therefore the most important thing in life-threatening situations is action.
The automatic external defibrillator is a device that can be operated by anyone and is aimed primarily at people without medical training. This device itself analyzes the patient's heart rhythm and performs life-saving defibrillations depending on the result of the analysis.
How to use AED?
Firstly, you need to be aware of whether it is nearby :) Such devices can often be found today in places where larger groups of people gather, i.e. train stations or shopping malls but still many people do not know about their existence, so during the training also we have asked the headmaster to think about the purchase of this device. Next time when you are in public places, pay attention to whether there is such a sign.
The symbol of AED, which we can meet in places of public use is the heart with the lightning visible in the picture. Such symbol will inform us that there is AED in a given place.
When providing first aid, we must remember about cooperation with other participants of the event. Therefore, the most important is the division of duties and while one person checks the vital parameters, another one can call the ambulance, and another one run for the AED.
During the emergency situation you can not use the messages "Let someone ..."
Nobody or almost noone will work then, people are afraid and a very small percentage of people will help then. The best thing you can do in a given situation is to separate responsibilities. You point one of the onlookers and say in a determined voice - "You in a green / red hoodie bring AED ..." only such a message can break through and force that person to act. It is especially important that the additional help that bringing AED does not delay the standard actions that we perform by compressing the chest.
How to turn on the device.
AED itself is very easy to use. When turned on, it tells us to apply electrodes to the chest in places that are drawn on them. It is necessary to carry out heart massage all the time until the device tells you to move away from the victim! When we place the AED electrodes, it will analyze the rhythm and if the rhythm is suitable for defibrillation, ask to move away from the victim and use the button to charge and defibrillate.
Next, we immediately proceed to further heart massage, until this device after 2 minutes will inform us about the next analysis of the rhythm and the operation will be repeated. This device is constructed in such a way that it directly tells us what to do to make it work properly because if we overcome the fear, we will certainly succeed.
Correct use of the AED can increase the effectiveness of resuscitation up to 75%
Who knows maybe someone here is, for example, the school's director or the president of the company, in which many people are staying every day, which is why I especially recommend buying such a device and training the staff to use it. As far as I know, there are no legal restrictions and anyone can buy AED, and its cost is relatively low considering that about 1,000 EUR can save someone's life.
Thank you so much for reading :)
Pictures taken from pixabay and wikipedia