Re: [Paddlewise] Rescues & CPR (was Hand of God rescue, sharks ands dolphins)

Peter... and everyone.... this turns out to be an important difference
between an unconscious person as a result of cold water immersion and one
who is unconscious from another reason.

If you perform the hand-of-god rescue (or any rescue) on someone who shows
no signs of life as a result of cold water immersion I believe that there is
some evidence that CPR should not stop just because there is no response
within a few minutes.

This is especially true the younger the victim is. There have been numerous
reports of survival after even 30 and 40 minutes of being underwater. No one
is completely sure why it works for some and not for others, but many people
immersed in cold water go into some sort of special shock in which their
brain cells to into a form of hibernation. These people can often be
completely revived with no (or few) long term problems. The younger the
person, the more chance of survival. The colder the water the more chance of
survival.

I understand that it might be difficult to perform effective CPR on someone
unconscious in a kayak but if you can get someone rafted up then at least
perform chest compressions until you can get the victim ashore. Some CPR
experts are now saying that chest compressions do more good than
mouth-to-mouth as the compressions get some new air into the lungs.

I cannot find a web reference to this just offhand but I bet some of the
Paddlewisers will have one.


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
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