EAR - technique to restart a person's breathing

EAR or Expired Air Resuscitation is a technique that is used restart a person's breathing in the case of an accident.

There are mainly three types of EAR

1.Mouth-to-mouth

2.Mouth-to-nose

3.Mouth-to-mask

Here are the steps you can take for performing Mouth-to-mouth EAR

Step 1: Turn the patient onto his/her back

Step 2: Tilt the patient's head slightly backwards and pull the jaw forward, to open the mouth.

Step 3: Pinch the patient's nostril with your thumb and index finger. This is to block air from coming out from the nose.

Step 4: Take a deep breath, place your mouth on the patient's mouth and blow into the his/her lungs.

Step 5: After one breath move away and allow the chest to fall. Check for signs of breathing.

Step 6: Give 5 breaths in 10 seconds and then check the patients pulse.

Step 7: If a pulse is present give 15 breaths per minute.

Precaution: Check for the rise and fall of the patient's stomach while performing EAR. If you find that the patient's stomach is rising and not the chest, this means that you are blowing air into the wrong cavity. This will not help resuscitate the patient. At this stage, change the angle of the head and continue EAR, again checking for the rise and fall of the patient's chest.

Mouth-to-nose EAR

This type of resuscitation technique is used when the patient is bleeding from the mouth

Step 1: Tilt the patient's head back, while lying him on his back

Step 2: Close the person's mouth gently with the palm of your hand, by pushing up the jaw.

Step 3: Take a deep breath, keep the patients mouth closed and blow into the patient's nose.

Step 4: Give 5 full breaths every 10 seconds.

Step 5: Check for pulse, if there is a pulse increase the rate of EAR to 15 breaths per minute.

This technique is absolutely essential in the case of accidents. Potentially lifesaving, it is another form of CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) that is essentially used to avoid severe damage caused due to lack of oxygen in the body.

If you do want to train yourself in CPR and EAR there are a number of short courses offered in a number of cities, free of charge.

Bangalore: EmergencyMedicine.in

Delhi: Firstaidcprtraining.in

Mumbai - Lifesupporters Institute Of Health Science

Online course: Washington.edu

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