Racing into a burning building or a raging storm to save someone from certain death is a job for superheroes. Or, it’s a job for highly skilled and trained professionals who have the required fitness and equipment to get the job done.

However, this does not mean that if you’re neither of these, that there is nothing that you can do to help in an emergency. On the contrary, you can learn various activities for lifesaving that do not require peak physical fitness or years of dedicated training and experience.

o   Using Defibrillators

A mobile, hand operated automated external defibrillator (AED) can mean the difference between life and death for people who require immediate resuscitation. The modern AED device has been designed to be operated by individuals who do not have any training in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) techniques.

The device has easy to read instructions; all you have to do is follow them. In fact, today’s cutting-edge AEDs have built-in features that will diagnose the patient and determine if an electric shock is required to jumpstart the heart.

If the machine feels that there is no reason to administer such a shock, it will refrain from doing so regardless of how many times you push the big red button. Furthermore, these devices come equipped with easy to use instructions that you can read even in an emergency situation.

These machines are perfectly safe to operate, and there is no way you can accidentally injure yourself when using a defibrillator. However, CPR training will undoubtedly help to increase your response time and also allow you to quickly take stock of the situation in an emergency.

o   Performing CPR

Performing elementary CPR is one of the most popular and effective activities for lifesaving. If a person is unconscious and not breathing, CPR must be performed immediately.  Firstly, check the patient’s airways to see if he is breathing on his own. If not, tilt his head backward (unless he seems to have suffered a spinal injury in which case the patient must not be moved at all) to see if there is any blockage in the air passage. Then, rhythmically pump the patient’s chest multiple times and breathe into his mouth.

To perform the chest compressions, place one hand on top of the other and push downwards on the patient’s chest cavity. You have to do this at a rate of a hundred times a minute. Every few compressions, stop and administer mouth to mouth breathing.

If the chest does not rise after every breath, breathe into the patient’s mouth again till it does. Continue this procedure until emergency medical technicians take over or the patient starts breathing on their own.

o   Conclusion

In light of the above, we can see that one does not need to be a highly experienced trauma care attendant to be able to save precious lives. A little bit of training and determination can make a world of difference here.