(a) Shocks—In any injury, except the slight ones, the ends of the nerves in the skin are bruised or jarred. They send this jar along the nerves to the very delicate brain. The blood is drawn from the brain into the larger blood vessels, and the result produced is called shock. If you have jammed your finger in a door sometime, perhaps you have felt a queer sick feeling and had to sit down. A cold sweat broke out all over you, and you were hardly conscious for a moment or two. This was a mild case of shock. In more severe injuries a shock to the brain may be very serious.
Symptoms of Shock—1. The patient may or may not be unconscious, but he may take no notice of what is going on around him.
2. The face is pale and clammy.
3. The skin is cold.
4. The pulse is weak.
5. The breathing is shallow.
In any serious injury the shock is liable to be severe and will need to be treated before the doctor arrives.
Treatment—Send for the doctor if serious.
1. Lay the patient flat on his back with head low, so that the heart can more easily pump the blood back into the brain.
2. Cover warmly; if they can be gotten, put around him several hot water bottles or bricks, being extremely careful to have them covered so that they will not burn him. Persons suffering from shock are more easily burnt than usual. Do not put anything hot next him unless it can be held against your own face for a minute without feeling too hot.