The moment therefore you receive the person drowned, strip him of his wet cloaths, and wrap him up in three or four dry blankets; if his belly is swelled with water lay him across a chair or barrel upon his belly, in order to make him void the water; but in this spend not much time, but be as quick as possible. Take a good quantity of salt, the more the better, with which employ three or four handy men to rub him all over;—his temples, his wrist, his arms, his breast, his back, his groins, his knees, his ancles, &c. let this friction either be by the hands or rough woollen cloaths pretty briskly; and, whilst this is doing, let one apply his mouth to that of the patient, stop his nostrils, and with all effort blow gradually into his lungs, and try to make him breathe. If the lungs are open to this, there is a good prospect of recovery, and let the breathing into the lungs be briskly repeated. In the mean time, try to open a vein in the arm; if the head is bloated, as it frequently is, open the jugular vein, or whatever vein that appears distended in and about the head.
On signs of life, continue the friction briskly, rub some essential oil of peppermint (U) in and about his nostrils. If he recovers, at first he will open his eyes, heave his breast, his heart will beat, and gradually he will move some of his limbs. If he opens his mouth put a little salt in it at first, next give him the following draught.
No. IV
Take essential oil of peppermint (U) six drops, upon a lump of sugar, which dissolve in a table spoonful of elixir proprietatis (H).
If he inclines to vomiting, promote it with decoction of camomile (11) or a vomit of ipecacuanha (S); besides all this, blankets should continually be warming, so as to preserve a warmth of the body.
If he is fortunately brought to life, put him directly into a warm bed, and give him a dose of the fever powder, and let him drink freely of good sage punch, in order to promote a perspiration, which is here very requisite.
No. V
Take sage about a pugil (that is as much as you can well take betwixt three fingers) on this pour boiling water, one quart; to which add sugar and good old Jamaica rum, sufficient to make it agreeable, but not too strong. Or instead of this give him some mulled wine.
A fever always attends a patient after the recovery of Drowning; therefore care should be taken when he is brought to himself, that he is not over heated by liquor; as this is liable to throw him into a disease as dangerous as the narrow chance he has just escaped.
Should however the above methods not succeed, you must not despair. If the lungs, or the larynx seem so contracted that it appears impossible to blow breath into him by the mouth, recourse must be had to bronchotomy, that is, opening the wind-pipe betwixt the third and fourth cartilage; to which a man should put his mouth and inflate the lungs; the throat should be tickled with a feather, a little pepper blown up the nostrils and the body here and there scratched with pins, or small wounds made in the legs and arms, and plentifully rubbed with salt. If there is salt enough to do it, the patient ought to be covered all over.