Remarks on the Uses of some of the Bazaar Medicines and Common Medical Plants of India / With a full index of diseases, indicating their treatment by these and other agents procurable throughout India; to which are added directions for treatment in cases of drowning, snake-bites &c.

by Edward John Waring

Treatment to Restore Natural Breathing.

Rule 1.—To maintain a Free Entrance of Air into the Windpipe.—Cleanse the mouth and nostrils;[3] open the mouth; draw forward the patient's tongue, and keep it forward; an elastic band over the tongue and under the chin will answer this purpose. Remove all tight clothing from about the neck and chest.

Rule 2.—To adjust the Patient's Position.—Place the patient on his back on a flat surface, inclined a little from the feet upwards; raise and support the head and shoulders on a small firm cushion or folded article of dress placed under the shoulder blades.

Rule 3.—To imitate the Movements of Breathing.—Grasp the patient's arms just above the elbows; and draw the arms gently and steadily upwards, till they meet above the head (this is for the purpose of drawing air into the lungs), and keep the arms in that position for two seconds. Then turn down the patient's arms, and press them gently and firmly for two seconds against the sides of the chest. See Engravings I. and II. (This is with the object of pressing air out of the lungs. Pressure on the breastbone will aid this.)

Repeat these measures alternately, deliberately, and perseveringly, fifteen times in a minute, until a spontaneous effort to respire is perceived, immediately upon which, cease to imitate the movements of breathing, and proceed to Induce Circulation and Warmth (as below).

Should a warm bath be procurable, the body may be placed in it up to the neck, continuing to imitate the movements of breathing. Raise the body in twenty seconds in a sitting position, and dash cold water against the chest and face, and pass ammonia under the nose. The patient should not be kept in the warm bath longer than five or six minutes.

I.—Inspiration.
II.—Expiration.
To illustrate the position of the Body during the employment of this Method of Inducing Respiration.

Rule 4.—To excite Inspiration.—During the employment of the above method excite the nostrils with snuff or smelling salts, or tickle the throat with a feather. Rub the chest and face briskly, and dash cold and hot water alternately on them.