If you have done these things, the doctor, when he arrives, will probably find the patient at all events alive. The further treatment, of course, belongs to him. But if you have rendered your first aid, it will make a very great difference to the patient.
Let us leave this chapter of horrors. But one moment—we want to say something to you about fainting. We suppose it has been the experience of very nearly everybody to see a girl faint in church.
It is rather a hot stuffy day in July, and Miss Jones goes to church; but the place is rather more crowded than customary, for the sermon promises to be more interesting than usual.
About the middle of the service Miss Jones feels “queer.” She reels a bit, utters a faint cry and falls down “in a heap” fainting. Confusion at once reigns. The gentlemen about her lift her up, elevate her head and take her out of the church.
What is a faint? It is the momentary cessation of the heart’s action. The heart stops for a second. The brain is deprived of blood. It instantly ceases its function. The body drops as if inanimate. It is this dropping down in a heap which prevents the brain from being deprived of blood for long. It is this which saves the person from danger.
When a person falls down in a faint, leave her alone. Unloose her collar if you like, but under no circumstances should you elevate her head. Let her head be the lowest part of her body. Remember this! Let the head of a fainting person be the lowest part of the body.
Afterwards you may give her a little sal volatile and fresh air. But it really does not matter what you do as long as you pay attention to the position of the head.
Oh, by the way, we were talking about our medicine chest! Let us return to our subject, and exactly describe the box and its fittings. The box should be made of metal, not wood. The reason for this is that metal is such a clean material, and when it has been soiled, it is a simple matter to wash it, whereas wood holds the dirt, and is not by any means so easily cleaned.
A japanned cash-box makes as good a medicine chest as anything. One about twelve inches long, six inches broad, and six inches deep, makes a capital medicine chest. Certainly it is quite large enough! What would you have? What is the good of a medicine box that you cannot carry about?
We keep a medicine chest of the size above mentioned. We find it quite large enough for when we are travelling “off duty.” It is quite sufficiently large to carry all that we require for emergencies. Of course it is furnished differently from what yours should be; but, as regards size, it is only ten inches long, six inches broad, and six inches deep.