Papers on Health

by John Kirk

If the wound is in the forearm, put a pad in the bend of the elbow, and tie the forearm firmly up on the arm. If the wound is above the elbow stop the main artery in the way above indicated. This artery runs pretty well under the inner seam of the sleeve of a man's coat. Diagram I. shows how this artery may be stopped by direct pressure of the hand; Diagram II. how a tourniquet may be applied.

For bleeding in the arm-pit, press in a pad and tie the arm down to the side. It may be necessary here to compress the artery with the thumb. The artery here lies behind the inner bend of the collar bone lying on the first rib.

In case of arterial bleeding about the head apply the bandage as in Diagram III. The pressure is here applied right over the wound, as the skull is always behind on which to press the artery.

A wound in the leg should be treated in a similar way to a wound in the arm. Diagram V. shows the stopping of bleeding above the knee.

Do not remove the pressure until the arrival of a medical man.

Wounds, Ill-Smelling.—For all such wounds, the best method is frequent cleansing with vinegar or dilute acetic acid (see) by means of a small glass syringe, such as may be got at any druggist's (see Abscess; Wounds, Syringing). We know one case where the patient was expelled from a curative home because of the evil smell of his wounds, three careful cleanings out with dilute acid so removed all odour that the patient was at once readmitted. Where the wound is very tender, soak soft cloths or lint in the dilute acid, and lay them on the wound three or four ply thick. Remove and renew them every quarter-of-an-hour till the smell is gone. Of course the cloths should be immediately washed or, better, burned. In using the syringe, care should be taken to suck out the ill matter, as well as to send the dilute acid well down into the sore. Careful cleaning of the syringe with boiling water before use is necessary.

Wounds, Soothing.—During the process of healing, wounds often give a great deal of pain, even when all is going well. It is this pain we here show how to relieve. After an operation under chloroform, itself painless, the process of healing is often very painful. We are sure this pain need not be endured, but to prevent or cure it we need to see what is its cause. Two causes are specially notable—pressure and cold. By skilful handling and bandaging, undue pressure may be avoided by the surgeon. But a great deal can be done by any one to keep cold from the seat of injury. Have a bag of soft flannel, as fine as possible, made so as to surround the wounded part. This bag is filled with dry bran, heated in an oven or otherwise, without being wet. Of course the heat must not be great enough to cause any discomfort, but sufficient to give a fine sense of relief. This application is for a wound which has not become inflamed, but is doing well.

When inflammation has set in, and the patient is fevered, the opposite treatment is applied. Over the dressing apply three or four folds of dry cotton cloth, and over this again apply cold towels (see Towels, Cold Wet) until the pain is relieved. Good sense must regulate this treatment, of course, and excess of cold be avoided. But with ordinary care this need never cause anxiety.

Wounds, Syringing.—Very great good can often be done by a little careful syringing of internal wounds. Take, as an illustration, a case of a kind we have often seen. It is that of a young patient with a wound on the lower part of the leg, a good long way below the knee. This wound will run in spite of all that has been done to dry it up. The opening in it is very small, and one would think it ought to be easily cured, but it is not so. The truth is that this wound is from two to three inches distant from where the real sore is situated in the limb. The wound is well down towards the ankle; the real sore is well up towards the knee. There is a corroding matter generated in the internal sore, and that runs down under the skin, and keeps cutting its way out at the wound. Until this is rectified, there will be no successful healing. Ointments that might do well enough on a small external sore have no effect in this case. The real sore, however, is easily reached and cured by the right use of a small pointed syringe. The kind most easily procured is made of glass, and costs about sixpence. Choose one that has a small smooth point, which can be easily inserted into the hole in the wound. This should be done without causing any pain. The point of the syringe should be dipped in hot water till it is as near as possible to blood heat: that is, it should neither be hotter nor colder than the skin it has to touch. If you are sufficiently careful on this point, all else will be comparatively easy.

Before you actually try to insert the syringe, observe in what direction the wound is likely to be extended under the skin. It will probably be upwards—almost certainly it will be so, as the waste matter, by its weight, tends to fall down. The sore at the top insertion of a muscle near the knee will send its matter down the leg, perhaps near to the ankle. Fill the syringe with warm water only, as near blood heat as you can have it. When you have got the point of the syringe even a very little way into the wound, you can inject a little water, and in doing this you will probably learn more nearly where the actual sore is to be found. The water will probably come out as fast as you send it in, but it may not come till a good quantity has gone in. Now, as you fill your syringe a second time with water at the same degree of heat, you will add a single drop of strong acetic acid, or twelve drops of white vinegar to a teacupful. You must be careful that this is not exceeded at this stage, or you will cause great pain. Moreover, you do no good to the sore by making the acid so strong as to cause suffering. If it is only just so strong as to cause a comfortable feeling of warmth, it will be all right for its curative purpose. Even very weak acid combines with the irritating waste matter that is keeping the sore diseased, and produces the desired healing effect. You have only to add one drop after another of the acid to your full teacupful of warm water, till the feeling produced by the syringing is all that could be desired. In the case of the limb that we refer to, a sensible mother used the syringe and the acid so skilfully as to heal the internal sore in a very short time, and thus the external wound quickly disappeared. Of course, if the wound is so very deep that the acid cannot be got up to cleanse it thoroughly, surgical aid should be sought.