A CPR face shield, also known as a barrier device, is a compact piece of personal protective equipment designed for use during rescue breaths in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This tool is typically a thin sheet of plastic with a centralized opening that contains a one-way valve or filter. Its primary function is to create a physical barrier between the rescuer and the person needing resuscitation, minimizing the direct exchange of air and bodily fluids. Using this shield allows a trained bystander to deliver life-sustaining breaths while maintaining personal safety.
The Role of Barrier Protection
The main reason for using a CPR face shield is to reduce the risk of cross-contamination between the rescuer and the person in need. During mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, direct contact with the victim’s saliva, blood, or vomit poses a risk of transmitting infectious diseases. The shield’s one-way valve is engineered to permit the rescuer’s breath to pass through to the patient while blocking the backflow of the patient’s expired air or any fluids.
This physical separation addresses a psychological barrier that often causes bystanders to hesitate or refuse to perform rescue breathing. By providing a tangible layer of defense, the face shield encourages faster intervention, which can be a determining factor in survival. The assurance of protection allows the rescuer to focus entirely on delivering the ventilation needed to oxygenate the patient’s blood.
Pre-Use Setup and Positioning
Before delivering any breath, the shield must be quickly located and prepared, as many are designed to be folded or stored on keychains for portability. Once retrieved, the shield should be immediately unfolded and its one-way valve or filter identified, as this component must be correctly placed over the patient’s mouth. The rescuer should then use the standard head-tilt, chin-lift technique to open the airway of the patient.
With the airway open, the shield is placed over the patient’s face, ensuring the filter or valve is centered directly over the mouth. Some shields are specifically designed to cover both the mouth and nose area, while others cover only the mouth, requiring the rescuer to manually pinch the patient’s nostrils closed. The rescuer must ensure the shield is oriented correctly, often guided by printed instructions or illustrations, before attempting to ventilate.
Applying the Shield for Rescue Breaths
After positioning the shield, the rescuer must secure a tight seal between the plastic barrier and the patient’s face. This seal is achieved by pressing down firmly on the edges of the shield with both hands, using the fingers to lift the patient’s jaw while maintaining the head-tilt. A good seal is necessary to prevent air from leaking out the sides, which would make the rescue breath ineffective.
The rescuer then takes a normal breath and places their mouth over the one-way valve or filter area. The breath is delivered slowly and steadily over about one second, much like a normal sigh, while watching for a visible rise of the patient’s chest. The chest rise confirms that the air has successfully entered the lungs, indicating an effective ventilation.
If the chest does not rise, the rescuer must quickly reposition the patient’s head and chin, then attempt to reseal the shield to the face before delivering the second breath. The one-way valve ensures that the rescuer can immediately lift their mouth away to take the next breath without inhaling anything from the patient. These two rescue breaths are then integrated with chest compressions as part of the overall CPR cycle.
After the Emergency: Disposal and Replacement
A CPR face shield is a single-use device and must be discarded immediately after use, whether it was used on a training manikin or a person in an emergency. Because the shield has been in contact with a patient’s bodily fluids, it must be treated as biohazardous waste. The shield should be disposed of in a sealed plastic bag and placed into the regular trash, or a designated biohazard container if available, but never in a recycling bin.
Following disposal, it is important to wash hands thoroughly and immediately replace the used shield in any personal kit or keychain. Maintaining a ready-to-use replacement ensures preparedness for any future emergency where rescue breathing may be required.