How can you tell if a person is unconscious?
An unconscious person cannot be woken up but breathes normally. An unresponsive person cannot be woken up and breathes abnormally or not at all.
Adult resuscitation
Resuscitation should be performed if the person’s heart has stopped.
When the heart stops, blood circulation in the brain ceases and every minute counts. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) aims to preserve blood circulation in the brain, thus preventing further damage and creating favourable conditions for the heart to resume beating. Timely CPR can triple a person’s chance of survival.
1
What to do if a person is unresponsive:
- Try to wake them up. Is the person responding at all? Shake them by the shoulders and speak to them in a loud voice.
- Call 112. If the person is not responding to your voice and you cannot wake them up by shaking, call the emergency number (112) using your phone or the 112 Suomi app.
- Turn the person onto their back and check whether they are breathing. Open their airways by tilting their head back and lifting their chin. Place your cheek above the person’s mouth to feel for airflow and check whether their chest is moving.
2
If the person is not breathing or if you cannot tell for certain that they are, begin CPR.
- 30 chest compressions. Press straight down by 5 centimetres on the person’s breastbone 30 times.
- 2 rescue breaths. Open the person’s airways, pinch their nostrils shut, cover their mouth with yours and blow steadily 2 times so that the person’s chest rises.
3
Continue with cycles of 30 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths until paramedics arrive or the person recovers.
If there are multiple first-aiders present, take turns performing CPR and switch every couple of minutes.
If you have access to a defibrillator and there are multiple first-aiders on the scene, send one to get the defibrillator, switch it on and follow the instructions. The others should continue taking turns performing CPR.
If the unresponsive person was rescued from water, always start resuscitation with five rescue breaths. Then continue with cycles of 30 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths until paramedics arrive or the person recovers.