What is the first thing you should do when you find a person unresponsive?

When encountering an unresponsive person, the first action should be to check for normal breathing. This step is crucial for determining the next course of action. Assessing breathing helps to identify whether the person is in need of immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or whether they may still be breathing, albeit slowly or ineffectively.

By checking for normal breathing, you can evaluate the airway status and understand whether oxygen is reaching the lungs effectively. If normal breathing is absent, indicating that the person is not breathing or is breathing abnormally, you can then initiate CPR and call for emergency medical services.

Other actions, such as starting CPR immediately, might be premature without understanding the person's breathing status. Shaking them to see if they respond may not yield reliable information and could potentially cause harm. Placing someone in a recovery position is appropriate only after confirming that they are breathing normally, and it might be misguided if the person's airway needs immediate attention due to unresponsiveness.