I never thought about it before reading this article, but I’ve always learned CPR on a male dummy. Would I be hesitant to perform it on a lady?
What percentage of CPR attempts are successful in the first place?
Outside of a hospital environment? Damn few.
Here’s a link to a study about the effectiveness of CPR. I don’t have the brain to parse the fine details.
My experience is very few strangers will step in to help. It’s the very special person would take the bold step to do more than call 911 and record on their phone.
I’ve taken CPR classes it was always a female dummy, (or a torso of one) and a baby dummy.
I hope I’d be brave/strong enough to help if I saw someone in need.
I’ve given the Heimlich to a stranger. Long, long time ago. Choking on a piece of steak. After he was able to spit it out and regain his breath he turned around looking very upset with me for a scary few minutes til he realized what had happened.
My other experience is I was the victim of low blood glucose. I wear a bracelet. Carry glucose rescue. Standing apart, waiting for my children. I went down to my knees. A lady came up and said “Did you fall down”. I shook my head “no” fumbled around for my glucose pen and handed it to her. She said “oh, no I’m not a nurse”. I took it back and was able to give it to myself. I attracted a crowd of onlookers. Maybe 15 people. Not one offered any help in anyway. Asked questions, argued about calling 911. It was after a sporting event. Even a uniformed officer just knelt down and asked me was I here with someone.
I came around.
My kids came out and I drove home.
That’s what the general public will do for you.
But…then a faraway Doper saved my life. So my faith in humanity was reborn.
I can certainly see being hesitant about administering an injection without any medical training. Even though my best friend is diabetic, I wouldn’t know what to do with a glucose pen. Does it matter where I inject it? Do I need to find a vein? Do I inject it all or a certain amount? I’d be concerned about doing more harm than good.
Rule of thumb: If you give glucose (or glucagon) to someone who doesn’t need it, at worst you will give them a temporary high blood sugar. If you give insulin to someone who doesn’t need it, you could potentially kill them.
As for CPR, I’ve only done it once in my 38-years as an RN. It was to a female and I did not think twice. I did not see a woman, I saw a person who had no heartbeat and no respirations.
ETA: You squeeze some fat tissue, insert the needle, and hit the button. You do not want a vein. You really should ask your friend for a demo.
mmm
The instructions are printed on it. It’s a simple process. But, yeah. I understand peoples concern about it. Don’t blame them.
My own family have reluctance at the prospect.
It’s a hard thing to take the actual step of putting your hands on a stranger. Let alone giving breaths or an invasive medication.
Especially if you’re not sure what exactly is happening.
We live in a separated society. I have my own issues with touching and being touched. Don’t just stand around gawking if you can’t/won’t help. And for God’s sake don’t record it on your phone. If you’re not sure what’s going on and it looks medical call 911.
(Yes, @Mean_Mr.Mustard , I was only talking about glucose rescue. Insulin should not be given by most individuals. Paramedics, nurse or doctor, trusted family or friend only. Always need to determine glucose levels if possible.)
Yeah, some men would definitely be wary about the optics of putting one’s hands forcefully on the breasts of an unconscious woman and lip-locking with her.
I have only ever seen/used Resuscitation Annie in my training
Yeah, there was a sad thread around here a while ago about how men would be hesitant to assist a lost child, especially a girl, unless they had a woman known to them nearby.
The first CPR practice mannequin was nominally a female: Resusci-Annie. However her chest bore no indication of her sex.
In light of studies showing lower rates of bystander CPR on women there are now mannequins to which breasts can be attached in order to make the point that women may need CPR too and initiate the necessary discussion.
The last class I taught had mannequins with such attachments. They weren’t large, and they lacked any detail that might have embarrassed students. But they served to start the discussion and help get people used to the idea.
Questions can be answered later. Help the child. If you have no ill intentions it will be found out.
Always, always let law enforcement know as soon as possible.
Crossed fingers and all.
Self-nitpick. It was Resusci Anne, not Resusci-Annie, but she was universally addressed as Annie when we were preparing to start CPR. I always forget the correct name and have to correct myself.
Interestingly (in relation to the subject of this thread) Wikipedia says that the maker chose to make it a female mannequin because he feared male trainees would be more reluctant to put their lips to the mouth of a male appearing mannequin.
I agree with you that one should render aid no matter what, but unfortunately in today’s society, the adage is true: “A lie has traveled around the world when the truth is still tying its shoelaces.”
In fairness, there may be other reasons accounting for women getting CPR less frequently. These may include sexism, fear of litigation, perceived difficulties in compression or attaching AED electrodes - but also atypical presentations such as heart attacks causing anxiety or non-obvious symptoms instead of chest pain.
I get the hesitation and would mostly likely experience it myself, sadly. When I received CPR training, they talked about it, and said if the person was wearing a bra, you might need to yank it up out of the way, and if you feel weird about that, you should remember they are effectively a dead body unless they turn out to be very lucky and are (effectively) brought back from the dead.
Beck - I was telling my diabetic sister about your blood sugar/Little Debbie incident, and she was telling me there’s now a glucagon nasal spray. They were encouraging her to get one at her last hospital admission, but her insurance didn’t cover it. I told her Little Debbies are cheaper.
StG
All 50 states have good Samaritan laws. If your intention was to help, you are unlikely to be prosecuted or the subject of a lawsuit.
How would I prove I didn’t beat a woman to death?