If a person is overcome by inhaling smoke, it may be necessary to resort to artificial respiration. This is done as follows:
Fig. 1.
Lay the person to be treated flat on his back. Then kneel behind his head, grasp both arms near the elbow, and move them horizontally, carrying them away from the body and describing a semicircle until the hands meet above the head, as in Fig. 1. When this position has been reached, give the arms a steady pull for two seconds. By doing this the lungs are filled with air, because the ribs are drawn upward, thereby increasing the capacity of the chest.
The next step is to return the arms to the first position alongside the chest, as in Fig. 2, making considerable pressure against the lower ribs, and thereby forcing the impure air out of the lungs.
Fig. 2.
This whole act should occupy three or four seconds and be repeated sixteen times per minute. Do not abandon this work until it is definitely certain that the heart has ceased to beat.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been retained from the original.