d. General Principles in Giving Artificial Respiration. In performing any method of artificial
respiration, you must always keep certain general principles in mind.
(1) Begin at once. DO NOT take time to move the victim to a better place. DO NOT delay
artificial respiration to loosen clothing, to warm the victim, or to give him stimulants. These
measures are secondary; the most important thing to do is to get air into the victim's lungs.
(2) Quickly sweep your fingers through the victim's mouth to clear out froth and debris, and draw
his tongue forward.
(3) Position the casualty to maintain an open airway. Keep his head as far back as possible so
that the front of his neck is stretched with the chin in a "jutting-out" position. Do NOT let the
chin sag.
(4) Begin artificial respiration and continue it without interruption until the casualty either starts
natural breathing or is pronounced dead. A smooth rhythm is desirable, but split-second
timing is not essential.
(5) Never wait for a mechanical resuscitator to be brought to the scene of an accident, nor for an
untrained operator to read instructions and learn to use the equipment. Instead, start artificial
respiration without delay, and then, when a properly operating, approved mechanical
resuscitator with a trained operator becomes available, use it.
(6) If the casualty begins to breathe on his own, adjust your timing to assist him. Do NOT fight
his attempts to breathe. Synchronize your efforts with his.
(7) As soon as the casualty is breathing
for himself, or when additional help
becomes available, see that his
clothing is loosened (or, if wet,
removed), that he is kept warm, and
that he is being treated for traumatic
shock. Do NOT, however, interrupt
artificial respiration to do this.
e. The Mouth-to-Mouth Method (fig. 16).
The Army prefers this method and its variations,
because they permit more air to enter the
victim's lungs than do any other known manual
methods. Here is the preferred mouth-to-mouth
method:
(1) Place the casualty on his back (face up).
Do NOT put anything under
Figure 16. Mouth-to-mouth method of rescue
breathing.
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