When counting respirations, which action is recommended?

• A. Not telling the client you're counting breaths
• B. Explaining every breath aloud
• C. Counting only for 15 seconds
• D. Describing observed rhythm aloud

Answer: (A)

When counting respirations, observe the chest rise and fall without the person knowing you are counting. This keeps the breathing pattern natural and gives an accurate rate. Not telling the client you're counting helps prevent them from altering their breathing, which would skew the count. Explaining or describing each breath aloud would distract or prompt the person to change how they breathe, making the measurement unreliable. Counting only for a short period, like 15 seconds, also risks error—the usual practice is to count for a full minute to get an accurate rate. If you must, you can count for 30 seconds and multiply by two, but the key idea is to keep the process discreet to preserve natural breathing.