Member Mark Nahrgang came up with this good point. In our new online Safety Practices for Home Inspectors course http://www.nachi.org/safetypracticescoursereleased2007.htm it says that:
“Vomiting can lead to problems with the victim’s airway. If the victim begins vomiting and is unconscious, place the victim in the recovery position to let the vomit drain from the victim’s mouth.”
but “recovery position” is not defined.
Anyone know what it is?
The “victim” is resting on their side. I used to teach First Aid and CPR in the Navy and as Aircrewmen we had to qualify every year.
For illustration sake:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recovery_position
Depending on the situation, either lying on thier side with their head turned sideways and the neck slightly extended (to allow for the free flow ouut of their mouths) or by holding them uo, at the waist with their head and chest pointing down.
See here: http://www.redcross.org.uk/standard.asp?id=56899&cachefixer=
Hope this helps;
Thanks, I linked the term to that URL from the course to a new window.
Nick I have been, in the past a life guard for about five years and I am also a rescue diver in the keys and a dive master. and the recovery position depends on the situation like if the victim hit their head or they just fainted, if they hit their head then the whole body needs to move all at once so that the spine is move in a different direction in case of a spinal injury, and if their is not a possibility of a spinal injury then you can just move their head to the side.
Moving the head only is always a no-no as spinal cord damage could result…we don’t have x-ray vision for inspections - we also don’t for the human body. The person should be laid on their LEFT side (because of human physiology)with the body in a supported position (if possible) in order to promote safety and avoid aspirating vomit.
I like to think of placing them on their side while making sure the entire body is supported, making sure the airway is clear and allowing the VOMIT to drain safety from the side of the mouth.
While I understand the SPINE issues…heck if that will do anything if they choke to death on the VOMIT
Exactly! If you found someone in a burning building hopefully you wouldn’t second guess the immediate need to move them. Same logic applies here.