Basic life support or BLS is an essential skill that helps in saving many lives. This skill can assist in stabilizing a person undergoing a life-threatening condition until the medical professionals arrive. It requires the application of AED with CPR.
AED or Automated External Defibrillators are used for stabilizing a person experiencing a blockage, restarting a stopped heart or any other severe medical condition. It is typically used after 5 repetitions of CPR. Here, you need to understand how to handle the operation of this tool to help a patient in recovering the heartbeat until the help arrives. Most of people haven’t used this tool due to which many myths are related to its usage and effectiveness.
Common Misconceptions Regarding an AED
1. AED Can’t Work at Home
As per rough estimates, nearly 80% of the medical emergencies take place in the homes. Hence, it is advisable to have this instrument in your home to be used quickly if an emergency strike. Find a reputed course of BLS for healthcare providers online for learning the right techniques of using AED.
2. You Don’t Need Proper Training for Using AED
It is easy to use an AED in defibrillator accidents. When CPR does not prove effective after 4-5 repetitions, you can use AED support to restore the normal heart rate of a patient. If inaccurately done, it can cause further injury to the person and can put a life in danger. Hence, you shouldn’t take this process lightly. Rather, learn the skills required for BLS and application of AED from a certified training provider.
3. A Dry Chest is Essential for Using AED Pads
Although, the chest should be dry to facilitate an easy flow of the shock from the instrument to the heart. However, it is not a necessity to use AED. If possible, you should dry off the chest completely but you shouldn’t delay defibrillation when a shock is immediately required.
4. It is Not Feasible to Use AED After Two Minutes of CPR
Many people believe that AED won’t work if it is used to supply a shock 2 minutes after resuscitation. In BLS for healthcare providers’ online courses, you can learn everything about this machine. A rescuer should continue with CPR unless this instrument arrives. AED is an automated external defibrillator with pads that are applied to the chest of a victim. It can find out on its own if the victim still needs a shock rhythm to survive. It asks the rescuer to push the shock button and wait for the results.
5. AED Pads Can’t be Used Interchangeably
The AED electrode pads are specific to age groups including adults, kids, and babies. The adults are the most common age group for using AED. However, you can use these pads for children aged 1-8 years if you can’t find a proper pad in their size. Here, you shouldn’t use smaller pads on the adults because they don’t offer the required electric power and you may have to continue with check compression.
Conclusion
These are some common myths related to AED usage for CPR. You should learn the proper BLS skills and learn everything about using a defibrillator for reviving a human life. Learn them from a certified training provider.
