How can you tell if a child is unresponsive?
An unresponsive child is limp, cannot be woken up and breathes abnormally or not at all.
Child resuscitation
For small children and babies, always start resuscitation with five rescue breaths.
Rescue breaths are vital when resuscitating a child, as the most common cause of unresponsiveness in small children is lack of oxygen. Cardiac arrests are less common in children than in adults. CPR must be started immediately to preserve blood circulation and especially oxygen supply to the brain.
From the age of puberty onwards, the adult resuscitation protocol should be followed.
1
What to do if a child is unresponsive:
- Try to wake them up. Is the child responding at all? Shake them by the shoulders and speak to them in a loud voice.
- Call 112. If you cannot wake the child up, call the emergency number (112).
- Turn the child 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 child’s mouth to feel for airflow and check whether their chest is moving.
- 5 rescue breaths. Open the child’s airways, cover their mouth tightly with yours and pinch their nostrils shut. For a baby, cover both their mouth and nostrils with your mouth. Blow 5 times so that the child’s chest rises.
2
Begin CPR
- 30 chest compressions. Using one hand, press straight down on the child’s breastbone 30 times. For a baby, use just two fingers as shown in the picture or your thumbs if the child is lying on a firm surface.
- 2 rescue breaths. Open the child’s airways, cover their mouth tightly with yours and pinch their nostrils shut. Blow steadily 2 times so that the child’s chest rises.
3
Continue with cycles of 30 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths until paramedics arrive or the child recovers
If there are multiple first-aiders present, take turns performing CPR and switch every couple of minutes.
If the child was rescued from water and their mouth is full of water, turn the child onto their side first to remove the water before starting CPR.