As much as we hate to admit it, humans are fragile creatures and can require intense medical care when an emergency arises. Without the proper help, a person could be fatally injured or may suffer from an untimely death.

That is why experts have constantly recommended that everyone knows the appropriate procedures of CPR and not be swayed by misconceptions.

Furthermore, CPR is required as an extreme measure but other simple day-to-day activities keep you and your family healthy. Whether in Australia or America, CPR is vital everywhere. Visit cprtraining to learn essential CPR skills.

Want to learn more? Here is the real truth behind some of the myths and misconceptions about a CPR course, as well as some simple measures to keep your family from going to the hospital before their problems become bigger.

What is CPR?

CPR stands for Cardiopulmonary resuscitation which is a technique that can help bring back patients from life-threatening emergencies such as drowning, heart attack, etc. It is mainly used when the patient’s heart has stopped beating or when the patient cannot breathe.

If you reside in Australia, then the National Health and Safety Course is a recognized and trained organization that can help train you in CPR so that you can help people come back from the verge of life-threatening medical emergencies.

How Does it Work?

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) works via chest compressions that are similar to the way the heart beats. This mimics the heart’s function and gets the blood flowing through the body. Additionally, the process can also be done via mouth-to-mouth compressions by blowing air into the patient.

Although chest compressions and air ventilation through the mouth are both said to be the best possible measures, the survivability rate is higher if both are done simultaneously as this gives the victim the highest chances of breathing again.

Note, that if unsupervised, or without any proper knowledge of the process, it might harm the victim even more. Hence, if there is time to act calling a professional doctor is the best possible option for saving that person. That being said, most severe cases, such as cardiac arrest tend to occur inside households. This means that you should take a course on CPR to take care of your loved ones.

The Myths & The Misconceptions

Nowadays, there seem to be myths and misconceptions about almost any topic put out to the public, and CPR is no exception. So, why not talk about some of the myths and misconceptions about a CPR course?

1.  CPR is Difficult and Will Not Help

Unlike the stereotype, many people who are even around the age of 19 have the capability to provide CPR with a little bit of hands-on training. The process is not extremely difficult. Furthermore, remember that when someone’s heart stops beating or they stop breathing, then they are already clinically dead so don’t hesitate to try and save a life as it might just work.

Additionally, people also believe that the act of trying to revive a clinically dead person is nothing but agony for the dead. This is certainly not the case as a patient can still be brought back to life.

You need to take immediate action as the emergency response time is around 7 minutes usually and a person’s brain tissues start deteriorating after 3 minutes. The faster you take action the higher the chances of survival.

2.  The People Around Me Are Healthy, So Why CPR?

Although in hindsight, the people you love and care for may seem happy and in good health. But the reality is that we can’t tell what’s going on internally in the body. You can try to improve your immune system to tackle diseases but you never really know when something severe may take place.

Sudden accidents can occur and you need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Cardiac arrests, sudden drowning, electrocution, etc. are all plausible mishaps that can occur to you and your loved ones at any time. Hence, it is a wise idea to keep yourself and others prepared.

This training course will let you identify the condition of the patient, prepare you to operate calmly so that you don’t make mistakes and if nothing else works an electronic defibrillator may just save a life.

3.  CPR Can Be Self-Taught Via Online Videos and Instructions

In recent years, the online world has seemingly made everything possible from the comfort of your sofa. Unfortunately, when it comes to medical practice, this is one of the myths and misconceptions about CPR courses.

You can learn to exercise online and make new recipes online, but when something as serious as a medical practice arises, it is highly recommended that you get yourself some hands-on practice since you will be able to take any sort of help required from your instructor.

Furthermore, watching a video and thinking that you are ready for such an important procedure that could potentially save a life is just not possible. Do you think casual first-person shooter video game players can actually use a gun without hands-on practice? That’s exactly the point.

4.  I Don’t Want Diseases

Many people believe that trying to save someone’s life via CPR may in fact harm theirs. How? Well, since diseases can be transmitted via bodily fluids, people are afraid of giving mouth-to-mouth CPR treatment. This is actually a legitimate statement as diseases such as HIV and Aids can be transferred during mouth CPR.

However, the myths and misconceptions about CPR courses, especially set by today’s popular media are that mouth-to-mouth CPR is the only way, which of course it is not since you can perform CPR with just your hands and it will have pretty much the same effect.

And remember, whether in Australia or in other parts of the world, saving a life is the most valiant thing a person can do!

5.  I Have Previous Experience So Why Practice Again?

One of the myths and misconceptions of a CPR course is that people think that since they have done it before, they don’t need to do it again. This is untrue as one mistake can do more damage to the person you may be trying to help.

Furthermore, there is a first aid certificate that involves CPR training which needs to be renewed annually. This means that you have to go through the course once every year, according to the law, to perform CPR.

Other Ways of Keeping the Family Healthy

Apart from performing CPR when such extreme cases arrive, you need to provide the lessons to your family in order to keep them healthy and safe at all times. So, let’s check some out, shall we?

●    Wash Your Hands Regularly

Your hands are used for basically everything, and so a lot of germs and bacteria can get onto them. These are unhealthy and unhygienic which can pass on to others and even inside your body when you eat with unwashed hands. Be sure to set strict family rules for washing hands.

●    Drinking Water is a Must

The human body is made of about 70% water and so you can probably guess that it is an important substance. And that your body needs a lot of it to survive and function optimally.

A good level of water intake will increase your energy, help your brain, and also stay more active. Furthermore, it has also been shown that water can help with anxiety and stress.

In the humdrum of everyday life, it can be easy to forget to drink water but you must make a conscious effort to drink more water. In order to do that, you can set reminders or goals of how much you need to drink.

●    Physical Activities are a Must

It’s extremely important to get some workouts into your routine. Whether it be playing a sport or going to the gym, taking care of your physical health is vital to a healthy life. Furthermore, this can even help improve your mental health. Kids especially need to get their share of physical activities, otherwise, it will affect them growing up.

This also prompts for some fun family time. You and your family can exercise together, play sports and even watch virtual lessons and work out at home! This is truly a great contrast from sitting in front of the table working or looking things up on the internet all day.

In Conclusion

When talking about something so crucial as CPR, you must be trained and ready and should learn from an expert who can provide such courses. Consequently, if anyone in the family needs you to perform CPR, you can prevent the loss of a loved one.

We hope that this article has cleared all the myths and misconceptions about a CPR course and has given you some ideas as to how to keep all the family members happy and healthy.