RYA First Aid course

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BlueSkyNick

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Did this yesterday as a refresher and to get an up to date certificate - it's 12 years since the last one.

Couple of things struck me

- how the advice for CPR changes everytime. Now its 5 rescue breaths first, then alternate 30pumps and 2 breaths. Don't bother looking for a pulse - too many people waste too long looking and getting it wrong. Also, don't waste time by clearing the mouth unless it becomes apparent that you need to.

- how useful it is to refresh. Going on a sailing course, VHF or whatever, you get some practice. First Aid you use as little as possible.

Definitely worthwhile, suggest others consider it too.
 
Agree muchly.
Done 3 in 5 years.
Had to, as it appens.

3 different instructors -- which was interesting, how, from different medical and experience backgrounds, they put 3 different slants on the content.

Ref CPR.
I think More pumps will be the norm too!

Ref the practise bit.

Sfunny thing, not come across an incident prior to My first course.
Since I have used 1st aid 3 times.

Would have 'Froze' previously!
 
Yeh, it seems the success rate is not good less there is a De Fib gadgett handy.
Ref the mouth blockage bit-- My first man had stuff in his gob.

Lying on the floor of a Supermarket car park.
Peeps were standing around but didn't know what to do.

A Guy on me second course Had saved someone.
Although ribs were brocken.

Get the message ref twisted knickers though!
 
CPR does work so don't give up. Christmas day 2006 my family and I spent an hour giving CPR to a woman down the street who's heart stopped after zapping herself on the electric gate. It took the ambulance an 45min to arrive and wife and daughter continued CPR in the ambulance because the crew had no idea what to do. Somewhere a good deal hotter than the UK, so don't blame the NHS.

This Christmas the woman gave us a present. Mind you, I didn't understand a word she said. It might have been brain damage but I think she couldn't be bothered to learn English:-)
 
Don't forget CPR is about keeping blood circulating until real help arrives e.g. with a de-fib. CPR on its own seldom revives anyone, so I'm told.
Interesting re the rescue breaths to start with, on your RYA course. Our First Aid refresher about 3 months ago (involving a paramedic) said that current advice is not to do the initial rescue breaths at all, but get on with the compressions !
 
I have done 2 RYA courses in the last 4 years, and my own experience which is reflected in the comments above serve to compound my biggest fear which is that the "recommendatrions" seem to keep changing, its not something you practise regularly, if at all, and when it comes to the crunch, then "was it 5/30 or 2/10 or ......". I think the best comment I heard on the second course was it is always better to do something rather than nothing.
 
Well things will always change hopefully for the better. With better research they are actually finding out out what does work. As the above shows, what's the point of feeding oxygen into someone if it's not actually going anywhere!! So first thing now is CPR and the broken ribs as instructors have said in the past can be caused by over zealous First Aiders keeping some one alive.
A good start to the thread though to remind everyone to keep up to date with First Aid. Which is what I need to do...thanks.
 
That's exactly right. Anything is better than nothing. You can only do your best based on the training you've had, and however 'good' that is or isn't, it's going to give the casualty a better chance than doing nothing while you're waiting for the professionals to arrive.
And a broken rib or two is better than being dead!
 
Authoritative recommendations here .

These guidelines are considerably simplified from previous versions. Basically 30 compressions / 2 rescue breaths in all cases but start with 5 rescue breaths for children and victims of drowning.
 
Yep that's what we were told, Thistle.

Basically, if they have just had a heart attack there will still be oxygen in the blood so get it circulating quickly.

If they have been drowning, it could be a while since any decent oxygen was properly inhaled, so get 5 quick breaths into the lungs first.

Similarly, a child will not have had a heart attack so there must be another reason, hence a need to get some air in the lungs.
 
Interesting too that the latest instruction does not require you to carefully measure up where to locate your hands on the chest to begin compressions. Broadly speaking, just get on with it!

Our instructor ( I did my refresher last week) said that tv and films were guilty of providing the belief that CPR has a higher and faster success rate than in reality. Soap opera "victims" reviving after about a modest 20 or compressions provide the wrong impression. However that certainly does not mean that you shouldn't try.

I was in a roadside cafe the other day when one of the kitchen staff rushed out bleeding profusely from a wound on his hand where he had cut it with a knife. He stood there dripping gore and going pale while his colleagues and customers just stood and gawped. I stepped in and got him to elevate the limb and sit down while I assessed the injury and decided whether or not o call an ambulance. In the event we got hiim into a taxi to go to A and E. I would have thought there was a requirement for at least one staff member to have done a First Aid course, if so, it must have been his day off!
 
I was interested to see the 5 rescue breaths -30 chest compressions-2 rescue breaths,because I did the British Red Cross course at the end of November at the Red Cross Centre in Woodbridge,which was run by a lady who writes the advice for the Cruising Association.There was no mention of 5 first rescue breaths,just the 2+30 system.Neither is there any mention of this in the British Red Cross Practical First Aid(New Edition) book I have in front of me.May I ask was the RYA course run by RYA themselves or an outside body(St Johns/RedCross etc).I am hoping that my information & training & Red Cross certificate is not already out of date.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Interesting too that the latest instruction does not require you to carefully measure up where to locate your hands on the chest to begin compressions. Broadly speaking, just get on with it!


[/ QUOTE ]Yes I questioned that too. The dummies are all male, and the instructor said we should imagine a line between the nipples and start in the middle.

I told SWMBO that if I did that to her, I would be pressing on her intestines. I am hoping to be released from hospital later in the week, once the swelling on my head has gone down, and I am able to walk with the aid of crutches! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
The way I was taught to remember the rescue breaths/compression sequence was to work to the tune of "Nellie the Elephant" compressions in time with the words and breath every time you got to the "circus".

Probably old hat now.
 
Renewing mine next month.
I've done CPR once on an old friend who collapsed at the sailing club. Not a bad place to have a heart attack as there were at least four of us in the room who could have done it. Advice from the 999 people was to concentrate on compressions and not worry about breaths (this was his second heart attack and he had a pacemaker). Ambulance and defibrilator were there in under ten minutes but he didn't make it.
It took me a few days to get over it.
 
RE The rescue breaths I did the refresher course a few months ago and was told to do 5 rescue breaths only if the casualty has drowned ,not if breathing has stopped due to heart attack etc.
 
First Aid courses I did in MN - main point put across was same as Fire Fighting - if you break a bone saving their life ? What's problem ?

The amount of compression needed to actually get the heart to pump can be more than some rib structures can take.
Other point made was just make sure you do more 'pumps' than breaths ... counting is good to space each pump / breath out.
 
I didn't say it was a problem /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Maybe I shouldn't have used 'over zealous'.
As as been pointed out and was the point made by my instructor you do have to apply quite a pressure and you may break a rib....but the patient will live to thank you afterwards.
 
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