Artificial ventilation

The air is much more necessary to man than water or food, because without him he can live only a few minutes. In cases where a person stops breathing, the only way to help is to perform artificial ventilation.

Indications for use of artificial ventilation

Such manipulation is necessary in cases of a person's inability to breathe on his own, that is, independently perform gas exchange between the alveoli of the lungs and the environment: to receive oxygen, and to give carbon dioxide.

Artificial ventilation may be needed in the following situations:

• if independent breathing is suppressed by drugs (during a long operation under general anesthesia) or a person is in a coma in the postoperative period;
• with injuries that caused respiratory failure;
• with lung diseases (pneumonia, pulmonary edema );
• if the primary disease, causes failure or damage to the lungs;
• chronic respiratory failure.

If natural breathing is disturbed due to external influence, trauma or acute attack of the disease (with stroke ), complete artificial ventilation of the lungs is required, and auxiliary ventilation is required for pneumonia, chronic respiratory failure, during the transition to an independent one.

Basic Methods of Artificial Ventilation

Here's how to deliver oxygen to the lungs:

1. Simple - the way "mouth to mouth" or "mouth to nose".
2. Hardware methods: manual respirator (a normal or self-inflating respiratory bag with an oxygen mask), a respirator with an automatic mode of operation.
3. Intubation - dissection of the trachea and insertion of the tube into the opening.
4. Electrostimulation of the diaphragm - breathing occurs as a result of periodic stimulation of the diaphragm nerves or the diaphragm itself with the help of external or needle electrodes, which provoke its rhythmic contraction.

How to perform artificial ventilation?

If necessary, it is possible to conduct only a simple method and a hardware one with the help of a manual respirator. All the rest are available only in hospitals or ambulances.

With simple artificial ventilation, it is necessary to do this:

1. Put the patient on a flat surface, with his head set so that it is maximally thrown back. This will help prevent the tongue from falling and open the entrance to the larynx.
2. Stand on the side. With one hand, it is necessary to clamp the wings of the nose, while simultaneously turning the head back slightly, and the second - to open the mouth, lowering the chin down.
3. Take a deep breath, it is good to stick your lips to the mouth of the victim and exhale sharply. Your head should be immediately pushed aside, since exhalation should follow.
4. The frequency of air injection should be 20-25 times per minute.

It is necessary to monitor the patient's condition. Particular attention must be paid to the color of the skin. If it turns blue, it means that oxygen is not enough. The second object of observation should be the thorax, namely, its movements. With proper artificial ventilation it must rise and go down. If the epigastric region falls, it means that the air does not go to the lungs, but gets into the stomach. In this case, you need to correct the position of the head.

The second readily available method of ventilation is the use of a rotonos mask with an air bag (for example: Ambu or RDA-1). In this case, it is important to press the mask very tightly to the face and apply oxygen at regular intervals.

If you do not perform artificial lung ventilation in a timely manner, it will cause negative consequences, up to a lethal outcome.