Pocket-Mask substitutions for mouth-to-mouth

swindlman

swindlman

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What to do when you are without your Pocket-mask and need to ventilate someone that you dont quite think would be health to lip-lock with out it?

I have wondered this now and again, what would my options be. Grab a plastic back and poke a hole in it over the mouth to try and create a barrier. Especially these days when you want to keep yourself as healthy as possible with all the crud going around and being around it.

So tonight I am studying my Pharm & Card for Paramedic School in the local coffee shop that i'm always at these days. And older woman in her 80-90s came in, soon after had a coughing spell that sounded like crap, (wasnt eating so no airway-obstruction) since I am a basic, the steps of what may need to be done something happened began going through my head. As i'm sure most people do. Then started thinking to my self please don't let this be the night since I remembered that my jump kit w/ my pocket mask is at home, not in my car where I like it to be. So i started thinking of options of making a mouth to mouth barrier. There are just some people that you don't want to take the chance with.

What would you do? Someone stops breathing, May or may not have a pulse. If they do, they wont for long. And you don't want to take the chance with mouth to mouth.
 
I wonder about this too. So I've taken to keeping a mask with me at all times. Though to be honest with you, despite what I know is out there, if I see someone go down and I have nothing with me, I'm probably going to do CPR anyway. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let that person die/suffer damage because I wasn't willing to touch their mouth to mine.
 
compression only cpr would be appropriate. recent studies haave shown the myoglobin to carry oxygen a little longer than hemoglobin. If you really didnt want to lock lips with them compressions only cpr would be acceptable untill the appropriate resources became available
 
The chances of you actually catching a disease from mouth/mouth is pretty low, so my bigger fear is the vomit.

If you don't feel comfortable doing mouth to mouth, just do compressions IF their situation calls for it.


If all they need is rescue breathing... well that's a personal choice you have to make. Do you refuse to breath and let them slip in to cardiac arrest, or do you take a more pro-active route?
 
When I bring my BLS/First Aid kit with me, I have a BVM... ambient air is better than exhaled air... in terms of O2/CO2 content...
 
Your safety is your first priority, and you make that call. Personally, I wouldn't do it--but my county has rather high rates of all sorts of diseases I don't want to catch, and I have a few other health concerns. I'd readily do compressions only, if appropriate.

By the way, the plastic bag thing isn't going to work.
 
Akulahawk said:
When I bring my BLS/First Aid kit with me, I have a BVM... ambient air is better than exhaled air... in terms of O2/CO2 content...
Click to expand...


Our ambu bags say that we need a physician to sign off for it?
 
Yeah I'm not so much worried about Diseases such as hep, HIV and AIDS because i know the odds are slim as long as neither party has any open mucus membranes, But the chance of vomiting or getting sick with pneumonia or something as radical as H1N1, ha didnt want to say that one but its the truth since at the moment i cant afford any down time with medic school.

I wasn't trying to make it sound i like wouldn't do what needed to be done to help a person in need. Since if i was scared of getting sick or being around sick people then i would look for a new line of work but thats not the case. But personal safety is important to keep in mind...

And I am aware/read about the studies that show adequate CPR is most important, keeping blood flowing to the brain.

And as far as the BVM, Don't have one. I may invest in a disposable mask just to throw in my car. But i was mainly curious about responses id get
 
Btw, I would never do mouth to mouth... Just sayin.
 
If someone dropped and I felt like doing CPR it would be compression only CPR. I will not do mouth to mouth.
 
Studies have shown that the body has enough oxygen to support 4-6 minutes of compression only CPR.

I wouldn't do mouth to mouth without a mask unless it was my immediate family.
 
I carry my pocket mask with me most of the time (ie... in the car). I think the investment of 14 bucks for a BVM vs. a 20.00 co-pay monthly for valtrex, acyclovir, or any other disease of that matter is a wise choise... medically and financially.
 
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