CPR Kids - The recovery position

Recovery Position

• It is important to avoid leaving an unconscious person on their back to prevent aspiration if they vomit

"You never ever ever leave somebody who is unconscious on their back because if they vomit they can aspirate or breathe in their vomit."

Positioning for Different Cases

• Ideally, someone should be rolled onto their left side, but in general, getting the person onto their side is sufficient

• The only exception is a pregnant woman with a visible bump who should always be rolled onto her left side

Importance for Children

• Even if a child is unconscious but breathing normally, they still need to be rolled onto their side

• This step is crucial as the child may have a neck injury

"Even if this little one here has fallen out of a tree, she's unconscious but breathing normally, we still need to roll her onto her side. She may have a neck injury; we need to do it very, very carefully."

Proper Method of Rolling

• If there is only one person present, the following steps should be followed:

  1. Take the person's arm and tuck it around their neck to stabilize it

  2. Move the other arm out of the way

  3. Lift the knee up and roll the person onto their side, being careful of the neck

• The knee should be positioned at a 90-degree angle to stabilize the person

"We're going to take her arm and tuck it around her neck. This will help keep her neck stabilized while we roll her over. Move her other arm out of the way so she doesn't roll on top of it. Knee up and then straight over, being very careful of the neck. And then we need to make sure that their knee is at 90 degrees because this is what helps to stabilize them."

Positioning the Airway

• After rolling the person onto their side, their airway needs to be positioned correctly

• The head should be tipped slightly back

• The face should be supported to keep the airway open

"We then need to put their airway into the correct position. And remembering from doctors ABC that we need to tip her head a little bit back, so this is what we do. Head back and under the face to keep that in the right position."

Monitoring Breathing and Color

• While in the recovery position, it is important to continuously monitor the person's breathing and color

• If their breathing becomes abnormal or they start to turn blue, immediate action is required

"So if she is to vomit, it's going to come out. She's not going to choke on that. But in an unconscious person, I'm going to try and keep that airway in the right spot. Her knee keeps her on the side there, and only that we can watch them carefully. We can see that they're still continuing to breathe normally. We can see their color. And remember, if their breathing starts to become abnormal, they start to turn blue, you are concerned, you are rolling them straight back onto their back, opening up the airway, and checking for breathing."