Respiration or breathing rates are indicative of the proper functioning of many parts of the body and general well-being. When organs are not functioning properly or there is pain in the body, people react by changes in their breathing patterns. When caring for a child or the elderly, you should keep a baseline of the person's breathing for whom you are caring and check every hour for changes. If a person is not well, you should check more often. Breathing rates also tell if your body in using the oxygen you breathe in while exercising or using relaxation techniques.
Instructions
1. Make sure you have a baseline for the person's breathing rate you are checking. This should be done while the person is awake, but relaxed in a comfortable environment. Count the rise and fall of the person's chest for 15 seconds. Multiply the number by 4 and you will get the respiratory rate of the person per minute.
2. Have the person lie in a supine position, flat on his back with arms at the side and hands comfortably in place on the surface where the person is resting.
3. Place a small pillow under the person's head. Try to be as unobtrusive as possible. It is best if the person is unaware that you are checking respirations.
4. Use a watch with a second hand or a stopwatch. If you can see the person's chest moving, count the number times the chest rises within 60 seconds. If 60 seconds is too long, count the number of chest rises within 30 seconds and multiply by 2.
5. Notice if the person is breathing normally or if it is difficult for him to breathe. If lying flat for 30 seconds is too difficult, have him do so for 15 seconds and multiply by 4.
6. Keep a chart. It is important to know the breathing patterns of the person for whom you are checking. Label the chart with the time of day, the number of respirations, if the breathing is effortless or labored and whether the person is asleep or awake.
7. Take your own respirations the same way. Get a baseline when you are on your back in a resting position or in a comfortable sitting position. Use a watch with a second hand or stopwatch and count the breaths you breath out in one minute. Use this as a baseline and compare to when you have done strenuous exercises or after a jog or run.
8. Become familiar with the normal parameters for breathing for you or for whomever you are checking breathing. For newborns, the normal rates are 30 to 60 chest rises per minute; for toddlers, 24 to 40; and children 3 to 12, 18 to 34 chest rises. A healthy adult breathes 12 to 20 times per minute.
Tags: chest rises, person breathing, baseline person, baseline person breathing, breathing patterns, chest rises within