When people think of CPR or performing CPR, they immediately think of having to breathe mouth to mouth on someone. This can be concerning for most people, especially after the pandemic years – but there is good news.
The first good news is that CPR and mouth to mouth respirations turn out to be exceptionally low risk for the public. There are no documented cases of anyone contracting HIV during the performance of CPR.
Secondly, there is a great mouth barrier on the market that will protect you.
I have been trained in CPR for nearly five decades, have taught it as an instructor for close to three decades, and spent over three decades in the fire service performing CPR in the field. This is only to explain that I come from a place of experience and the utmost concern for anyone who attempts CPR in the real world. So, I believe that one should use a mouth barrier for the benefit of the victim and the protection of the rescuer. And with the American Heart Association’s 2025 Guidelines putting renewed emphasis on rescue breaths delivered along with compressions, a barrier you can trust matters more than ever.
But as you will discover, not all mouth barriers are equal.
This barrier is an example of a cheap import that uses a paper filter element as a one-way valve.
It comes with ear loops that secure the mask to the victim’s face. At face value (no pun intended) it looks like a fairly good concept for a barrier. But when put to use it doesn’t work so well, and a closer look at the design leaves me very concerned. So here are the problems with this style of mask.
- Providing breaths is exceedingly difficult once you attempt to open the mouth to deliver your 2 breaths. When you pull the chin down, the barrier filter piece over the mouth moves, and then you must adjust the mask again. It can take you 3-4 attempts to line up the mouthpiece with the open mouth. Otherwise, you may be blowing air onto the victim’s chin or upper lip.
- If the victim vomits and you do not remove the ear loops quickly enough, then this mask becomes a plastic bag full of vomit. With vomit in the victim’s mouth, nose, and eyes.
- Masks of this type are not medical devices. They are not FDA approved in the United States and do not go through any type of testing. They are imported into the U.S. under a novelty license, the same as toys. There has been no testing or certification showing that these masks even protect you or perform as advertised.
- It is lacking a bite piece, which means if the victim bites down and the jaw clenches shut, you will not be able to blow air into the victim’s mouth.
I only know of one CPR mouth barrier that solves all these problems. A company called Rondex manufactures their mouth barriers in the U.S. They do not use paper as the filter or one-way valve. In fact, they are the only mask I know of that has 2 one-way valves for your safety.
Their mask has a bite piece, so if the victim does bite down you still have a way to ventilate your victim. The ISO-SHIELD is a registered FDA medical device, and Rondex is a registered medical device manufacturer in the USA.
