Would you administer first aid/mouth to mouth?

[Coldemort]

Was in the queue for tesco and suddenly felt extremely dizzy/light headed. I had a sit down and luckily it passed, but did get me wondering what would happen if someone fainted/passed out in front of you? Would you administer first aid yourself (not knowing the health condition of the person?)
Just a hypothetical moral dilemma!

You wouldn't administer mouth to mouth unless someone wasn't breathing.. just because someone faints doesn't mean they've stopped breathing. But to answer your question, yes, if needed, I'd administer first aid.

First aid and chest compressions, yes
Mouth to mouth resuscitation - probably not
It is much better to do chest compressions only than no CPR at all

Not mouth to mouth, no.

Resus guidelines aren't to only give cheat compressions, I'm a health care professional in the community and that applies to us too.
So no, def not mouth to mouth.

Sorry that's only chest compressions

I've seen guidance to do compression only CPR at the moment (due to the pandemic). Will see if I can find link

This is the guidance I've seen

www.resus.org.uk/media/statements/resuscitation-council-uk-statements-on-covid-19-coronavirus-cpr-and-resuscitation/covid-community/

@foodtoorder has your phone changed what you wrote? It looks like you intended to say Resus Guidelines ARE only to give chest compressions

@Coldemort. I'm first aid trained and I'd do what I could, yes (and I'm washing my shopping! So I'd assume most who could, would, too). If necessary (you're not breathing) I'd start with chest compressions, but I'd do m2m if I thought it was necessary. Reminds me, I need to replace my key ring mouth shield!

X post @foodtoorder

Yes, I don't think you're (as in generic member of the public) advised to give mouth to mouth any more anyway, are you? From way before lockdown. It's just chest compressions.

I carry a mouth shield in my bag after having to give first aid to somebody who had stopped breathing. So yes I would.

Any idea why you were dizzy? Is that normal for you?

Wasn't that the purpose of those 'Staying Alive' adverts with Vinnie Jones? It was to promote hands-only CPR?

Really?

I did an (online) first aid course recently to brush up as it’s been a while and it definitely still said 2 rescue breaths followed by 30 chest compressions, and repeat.

Interesting to know this is not the done thing anymore! Does anyone have any links? I’d quite like to query this part of the course with the company’s it’s possibly out of date info.

I think if you've been trained in CPR then you are encouraged to do m2m, but the general public without training are encouraged to just do hands-on CPR. I suspect that's mostly just so that they do something instead of nothing, as mouth to mouth is probably off-putting to people, so focusing on hands-on CPR makes more sense.

No the guidance is still (normally, pre-COVID) is to give rescue breaths as well as chest compressions.

The Vinnie Jones ad was simply to spread the message that anything was better than nothing, so to encourage people that might not want to do mouth to mouth that they can still attempt chest compressions.

If you do a first aid course you’re taught the full lot as that is more effective.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/first-aid/cpr/

The NHS guidance says rescue breaths if you've been trained and are confident using those skills.

Yes I would because if someone wasn't breathing then they would die. They may have covid or other transmissible disease.I may catch it.I may catch it severely enough to die...however they will likely die if I don't act.

Oh and to answer the question - I would still do first aid on someone I saw that needed it. As PP have said, The rescusitation council released guidance for COVID which essentially is to Chuck a cloth over the persons face and not do mouth to mouth.

Makes sense - thank you.

Yes, if someone wasn’t breathing.

Strange, I thought about this the other week. I was coming out of the supermarket and an elderly lady stumbled on the pavement. She didn't fall, but my automatic reaction (I was some distance from her) was to go towards her to help/check she was ok/offer to help with her bags. Then I remembered social distancing and wondered if she had fallen, what people around the fairly busy supermarket would do.

Absolutely I would. I (and another shopper) helped an old guy who slipped and fell outside the local Co-Op this weekend. Neither of us were going to stand back as he lay on the floor, in pain and unable to get up.

I'm an ex nurse and wouldn't give mouth to mouth unless I had the right equipment. Someone may be sick, have herpes, have some other transmittable disease, who knows.

I would just do compressions until the ambulance arrived.

I’d do first aid, and CPR if necessary. I’d do mouth to mouth if a cloth could be found quickly.

The other thing is that the advice for children not breathing is five breaths first then compressions, because it’s more likely to be a respiratory issue than a cardiac one in children. I’d do breaths on a child though.

Research has shown that chest compressions only is more effective in the community. Normal air is 21% oxygen, but exhaled air is only about 15% oxygen. What actually matters is that oxygen gets around the body (especially to the brain), which can only be achieved by chest compressions. Those compressions need to be regular and effective.

When people do m2m, the break from compressions, 2 breaths, repositioning hands and compressions again is actually a really long time. All the effectiveness of the compressions is lost and has to be reestablished. By the time that's done, you're taking another break to do breaths.

Keeping chest compressions going continually will circulate the oxygen in the body and keep up the pressures required.