The first sharp pain comes from the injury to the tissues; subsequent pain is caused by the pressure of accumulated fluid. The other symptoms are those characteristic of inflammation.
When a sprain is slight, the affected part should be elevated and kept at rest for the first twenty-four hours. Either heat or cold should be applied, or heat and cold alternately; a good treatment is to soak the part in hot water and afterward to allow cold water to run upon it from the tap. Gentle rubbing with a circular motion helps to reduce the swelling. If the joint must be used it should be bandaged tightly.
Injuries to joints should never be neglected; and severe sprains always require medical attention, since in addition to the sprain a bone may be broken. A severely sprained joint should be elevated, treated with hot or cold applications, and kept at rest until it has been examined by a physician.
Bruises.
—Bruises need no attention unless they are extensive or painful. The skin should be kept clean and if possible unbroken, since injured tissues are less resistant to infection than tissues in their normal state. Applications of cold water or of equal parts of cold water and alcohol may relieve the pain, but cold should not be used upon bruises that are extensive. A compress bandaged
tightly in place may help to prevent swelling and discoloration.
Burns and Scalds.
—Injuries from dry heat are called burns, and those from moist heat are called scalds. Both are painful, and both are dangerous if extensive or deep. Burns and scalds require medical attention if the injured area is extensive, if a large blister is formed, if the skin is destroyed or charred, and if symptoms of shock appear. Shock often follows burns or scalds even when the injury is comparatively slight.
Treatment of slight burns, where the skin is reddened but not destroyed, has for its main object the exclusion of air. One of the following may be applied: dry baking soda, or baking soda made into a paste with water, picric acid gauze moistened in water, boracic acid ointment, vaseline, sweet oil, or castor oil; if none of these is obtainable, lard, cream, the white of an egg or unsalted butter may be used. Old muslin or linen bandaged lightly in place, should be used to cover the burn.
The same treatment is used for sunburn, and also for small burns where blisters form. A blister, if it forms, should not be punctured; but if it is accidentally broken the skin of the blister should not be removed. It should be remembered that a broken blister is an open wound, and therefore liable to infection.