CHAPTER XXIV
HELPING BEFORE THE DOCTOR COMES
The Need of Quick Help.—In many places in the country, or when out camping, it is impossible to get a doctor in less than two or three hours. Unless some one at hand can give aid before the doctor comes, much suffering and even death may result when a simple accident occurs. For this reason every one should know how to help in case of such accidents as burns, bleeding, choking, and sunstroke.
Clothing on Fire.—Children should never play about an open fire. A single spark lighting on a cotton dress may cause it to burst into a blaze so that within a few minutes the child is enveloped in flames.
The quickest way to put out such a fire is to wrap the child in a blanket, a piece of carpet, a coat, or any part of your clothing quickly removed. If nothing is at hand to wrap the sufferer in, roll him over and over in the dirt or weeds until the flames are smothered. When your clothing is on fire, you must not run, because this fans the fire and makes it burn.
Burns and Scalds.—If there is clothing on the part burned, it should be taken off slowly so as not to tear the skin. If the clothing sticks, soak it in oil a few minutes until it gets loose. Cover the burned part as quickly as possible with vaseline or a clean cloth soaked in a quart of boiled water containing a cup of washing soda. Let nothing dirty touch the burned surface and keep it well wrapped.
Bleeding.—A person can lose a quart of blood without danger of death and may live after more than two quarts have been lost, but it is wise to try to stop any flow of blood as quickly as possible. Tying a clean cloth folded several times over the cut will in most cases stop the flow. This will help a clot to form and will also close the ends of the cut vessels if the bandage is twisted tight with a stick.
If the cut is on a limb and the blood comes out in spurts, a bandage tied about the limb between the cut and the body may be twisted tight with a stick so as to press upon the artery and close it. A piece of wood or folded cloth placed over the artery under the bandage before it is tightened is helpful.
Nosebleed.—Some persons are troubled frequently with bleeding from the nose. The least knock may cause it to bleed for more than an hour. It may generally be stopped without sending for a doctor.
Sit up straight to keep the blood out of the head and press the middle part of the nose firmly between the fingers. Apply a cold wet cloth or a lump of ice wrapped in a cloth to the back of the neck. Put a bag of pounded ice on the root of the nose. If it does not stop in a half hour, wet a soft rag or a piece of cotton with cold tea or alum water and put it gently into the bleeding nostril so as to entirely close it. Do not blow the nose for several hours after the bleeding has stopped as this may start it again.
Fainting.—Fainting may be caused by bad air, an overheated room, by fear, or by some other excitement. A fainting person falls down and appears to be asleep. The lips are pale and there may be cold sweat on the forehead. There is too little blood in the brain, and the heart is weak.
A fainting person should be laid flat on the floor or on a couch, and all doors and windows opened wide. Loosen all tight clothing and apply to the forehead a cloth wet with cold water. A faint usually lasts only a few minutes.
Sunstroke.—A person with sunstroke becomes giddy, sick at the stomach, and weak. He then gets drowsy and may seem as if asleep, but he cannot be aroused. The skin is hot and dry instead of being cold and pale, as in fainting. The doctor should be sent for at once.
The first aid for sunstroke is to put the patient in a cool cellar or an icehouse, raise the head, and wet the head, neck, and back of the chest with cold water. As soon as he wakens put him in a cool room.
Frostbite.—When out in very cold weather, the end of the nose, the tips of the ears, and the toes and fingers are sometimes frozen. If a person comes into a warm room, these frozen parts will give much pain. The parts should be rubbed with snow or ice water until a tingling sensation is felt.
Breaks in the Skin.—A small cut or tear in the skin may become very sore and cause much trouble if not cared for so as to keep the germs out. If there is dirt in the wound, as when made with a rusty nail or by the bite of a dog, it should be squeezed and washed with boiled water to make it perfectly clean. It may then be bound up in a clean cloth. A little turpentine poured on the wound will help kill the germs which may make it sore. If the dog is thought to be mad or the wound is too deep to be easily washed out to the bottom, a doctor should be called.
Snakebite.—The scratches made by the little teeth of most snakes, such as the milk snake, garter snake, and black snake, do no more harm than the scratch of a pin. The copperhead, the southern moccasin, and the rattlesnake have a pair of long teeth called fangs in the upper jaw. These teeth have little canals in them through which the snake presses poison into the bite.
Fig. 98 —Photograph of a copperhead snake whose bite may cause death.
If a person is bitten by one of these snakes, the doctor must be sent for and help given at once. Put a bandage above the bite and twist it tight with a stick. Make two or three deep cuts into the bitten place to let out the poisoned blood. Suck the wound to draw out the poison and apply ammonia.
Choking.—A hard piece of meat, a bone, or a peach seed may slip back into the throat and press so hard on the windpipe as to cut off the air from the lungs. If the object is not far back in the throat, it may be seized with the first finger. A few smart slaps on the upper part of the back while the body is bent forward may drive enough air out of the lungs to push the object outward.
Drowning.—Every one should learn to swim while young, but no one should venture in deep water. Stiffening of the muscles called cramps often causes the best swimmer to drown.
After a person has been under the water two or three minutes he appears lifeless. He may, however, be brought to life if laid face downward, his clothes loosened, and the lungs made to breathe. A heavy folded coat, a piece of sod, or a bunch of weeds should be put under the chest. Then standing astride of him place the hands on the lower ribs and bend forward gradually so as to press on the ribs and push the air out of the lungs. Then straighten your body and slowly lessen pressure on the patient's ribs so that the air will run into the lungs. In this way make the air go in and out of the lungs about fifteen times each minute.
Poisoning.—Whenever a person has taken poison, a physician should be sent for at once. In most cases an effort should be made to get the poison out of the stomach by causing vomiting. A glass or two of weak, warm soapsuds, a pint of water with a tablespoonful of mustard, or a glass of water with two tablespoonfuls of salt may be taken to make the stomach throw out the poison. Tickling the throat back of the tongue will help cause vomiting.
If a strong acid such as carbolic acid or a strong alkali such as ammonia has been taken, do not cause vomiting. For acids give chalk in warm water and a pint of milk. For an alkali give vinegar in water.