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FIRST-AID-BASICS5 MIN READ

Gasping Is Not Normal Breathing

Distinguish normal breathing from agonal gasping during the Breathing step of DRABC.

Workshop room. Unresponsive adult. Occasional noisy gasps. What should Jordan do after confirming there is no normal breathing? Tell someone specific to call 911 and bring the AED, then start CPR according to training. Correct. Unresponsive plus not breathing normally is an emergency CPR/AED pathway, not a recovery-position pathway. Place Alina in the recovery position because any gasp means she is breathing. This violates the Breathing step. Occasional gasps are not normal breathing; recovery position is for unresponsive but normally breathing people. Wait 60 seconds to see whether the gasps settle into a normal pattern. Waiting burns critical time. DRABC…

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