ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES.
Few subjects can more usefully employ the attention and study of engineers than the proper treatment and first remedies made necessary by the peculiar and distressing accidents to which persons are liable who are employed in or around a steam plant.
These and many other things of a like nature are likely to call for a cool head, a steady hand and some practical knowledge of what is to be done.
Fig. 185.
In the first moments of sudden disaster, of any kind, the thoroughly trained engineer is nearly always found, in the confusion incident to such a time, to be the one most competent to advise and direct the efforts made to avert the danger to life limb or property, and to remedy the worst after effects.
To fulfil this responsibility is worth much previous preparation, so that the best things under the circumstances may be done quickly and efficiently. To this end the following advice is given relating to the most common accidents which are likely to happen, in spite of the utmost exercise of care and prudence.
Burns and Scalds.—Burns are produced by heated solids or by flames of some combustible substance; scalds are produced by steam or a heated liquid. The severity of the accident depends mainly, 1, on the intensity of the heat of the burning body, together with, 2, the extent of surface, and, 3, the vitality of the parts involved in the injury, thus: a person may have a finger burned off with less danger to life than an extensive scald of his back.
The immediate effect of scalds is generally less violent than that of burns; fluids not being capable of acquiring so high a temperature as some solids, but flowing about with great facility, their effects become most serious by extending to a large surface of the body. A burn which instantly destroys the part which it touches may be free from dangerous complications, if the injured part is confined within a small compass; this is owing to the peculiar formation of the skin.
The skin is made up of two layers; the outer one has neither blood vessels nor nerves, and is called the scarf-skin or cuticle; the lower layer is called the true skin, or cutis. The latter is richly supplied with nerves and blood vessels, and is so highly sensitive we could not endure life unless protected by the cuticle. The skin, while soft and thin, is yet strong enough to enable us to come in contact with objects without pain or inconvenience.
The extent of the surface involved, the depth of the injury, the vitality and sensibility of the parts affected must all be duly weighed in estimating the severity and danger of an accident in any given case.
In severe cases of burns or scalds the clothes should be removed with the greatest care—they should be carefully cut, at the seams, and not pulled off.
In scalding by boiling water or steam, cold water should be plentifully poured over the person and clothes, and the patient then be carried to a warm room, laid on the floor or a table but not put to bed, as there it becomes difficult to attend further to the injuries.
The secret of the treatment is to avoid chafing, and to keep out the air. Save the skin unbroken, if possible, taking care not to break the blisters; after removal of the clothing an application, to the injured surface, of a mixture of soot and lard, is, according to practical experience, an excellent and efficient remedy. The two or three following methods of treatment also are recommended according to convenience in obtaining the remedies.
Take ice well crushed or scraped, as dry as possible, then mix it with fresh lard until a broken paste is formed; the mass should be put in a thin cambric bag, laid upon the burn or scald and replaced as required. So long as the ice and lard are melting there is no pain from the burn, return of pain calls for a repetition of the remedy.
The free use of soft soap upon a fresh burn will remove the fire from the flesh in a very little time, in 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 an hour. If the burn be severe, after relief from the burn, use linseed oil and then sift upon it wheat flour. When this is dried repeat the oil and flour until a complete covering is formed. Let this dry until it falls off, and a new skin will be formed without a scar.
In burns with lime, soap lye, or any caustic alkali, wash abundantly with water (do not rub), and then with weak vinegar or water containing a little sulphuric acid; finally apply oil, paste or mixture as in ordinary burns.
It would be well to always keep ready mixed an ointment for burns; in fact a previous readiness for an accident robs it of half its ill effects.