Breathe easier knowing the facts about CPR
Mucous formation is an ever-present danger in acute asthma, made worse by the “clamping down” action of the muscles around the bronchial tubes. This is why so many asthmatics “mysteriously” and suddenly die, almost all of them unnecessarily. CPR is futile unless the blockage is removed before resuscitation is started. This treatment oversight is even more tragic than drowning deaths.
More people die of asthma than from drowning every year – so the potential for saving lives is immense. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – a subdivision of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)- more than 15 million Americans suffer from asthma. Fourteen Americans die during asthma attacks every day, which adds up to more than 5,000 deaths each year.
If you are ever in the presence of someone who is having a severe asthma attack and appears to require CPR, be sure to administer the Heimlich maneuver first.
To perform the maneuver, stand behind the person and wrap your arms around his or her waist. Make a fist and place the thumb side of that
fist against the victim’s upper abdomen, below the rib cage and above
the navel. Grasp your fist with your other hand and press into the
victim’s upper abdomen with a quick upward thrust. Do not squeeze the
rib cage; confine the force of the thrust to your hands. Repeat if necessary.
If you are performing the maneuver on yourself, lean over a fixed
horizontal object (table edge, chair, railing, etc.) and press your
upper abdomen against the edge to produce a quick upward thrust.
Repeat if necessary. Like a breath of fresh air,
William Campbell Douglass