A little Valentine’s Day trick that could save a life

Tuesday, 14 February is Valentine’s Day which means that you may be preparing for that nerve-wracking first date. The crisis you face is, how can you possibly know if he / she is interested in you? CrisisOnCall, a crisis and emergency response company, may have the right trick for you. Your heart might be racing, but knowing how to check a pulse will not only save a life but may even be useful to save your date.

“Checking a pulse is a crucial first-aid tool everyone should learn. You never know when you may find yourself in a situation where you need to check a pulse in order to assess the nature of a medical emergency,” says Ruan Vermaak, communications manager at CrisisOnCall. “Identifying a pulse on an injured person and passing this information onto medical first responders, could save the person’s life.”

There are two main ways in which you can check a pulse, firstly via someone’s neck or secondly on the underside of the wrist. Let’s take a look at each way:

To measure the pulse in someone’s wrist:

  1. Straighten the persons arm with the palm of their hand facing upwards.
  2. Place your index (first finger) and middle fingers on their wrist, at the base of their thumb.
  3. Do not press down firmly, only with a slight pressure.
  4. Using a watch or timer on your phone, count how many beats you feel in a minute, or count them over 30 seconds and multiply the number by two to work how many beats a minute.
  5. If you can’t find their pulse, try moving your fingers around a bit and pressing a little harder.
  6. The beats per minute is the information you would need to pass onto the first responders. A normal resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute. 

To measure the pulse on someone’s neck:

  1. Place your index and middle fingers on the side of their neck, on the soft area just beside their windpipe. Don’t press down too hard.
  2. Using a watch or timer on your phone, count how many beats you feel in a minute, or count them over 30 seconds and multiply the number by two to work how many beats per minute.
  3. If you can’t find their pulse, try moving your fingers around a bit.

What is the next step once you’ve checked for the person’s pulse?

“If there are two people at the scene, ideally you would want one person to check the pulse and the other to call an ambulance,” says Vermaak. “Sharing the pulse (beats per minute) with the medics over the phone will help better prepare them to attend to the victim upon arrival.”

“Regardless of the heart rate, if the person / victim is immobile or injured, an ambulance should be called. “At CrisisOnCall, we have a national emergency number and a wide network of emergency response resources. Our identification wrist band also holds a person’s important medical information, which could save even more time in getting them admitted to hospital.”

“Now that you know how to check for a pulse, why not try this on your Valentine’s Day date,” says Vermaak. “You might even be able to tell if you get their heart racing.”

To find out more about CrisisOnCall and their services, visit their website: https://www.crisisoncall.co.za/. CrisisOnCall has a national call centre and is connected to a wide network of first responders.

Follow them on social media for more important roadside safety advice:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrisisOnCall

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_crisisoncall/

Source: CrisisOnCall

Photo: Pexels

Picture of Moegammad Fasiegh Petersen
Moegammad Fasiegh Petersen

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