CUTS AND WOUNDS After making sure that no dirt or foreign substance is in the wound, the first thing is tight bandaging- to close it and stop the bleeding. The more the part is raised above the heart- the force-pump the easier it is to do this. If the blood comes out in spurts, it means an artery has been cut; for this, apply a twister or tourniquet that is, make a big knot in a handkerchief, tie it round the limb, with the knot just above the wound, and twist it round with a stick till the flow is stopped. LIGHTNING To revive one stunned by a thunderbolt, dash cold water over him. SHOCK OR NERVOUS COLLAPSE A person suffering from shock has pale, dull face, cold skin, feeble breathing, rapid, feeble pulse, listless, halfdead manner. Place him on his back with head low. Give stimulants, such as hot tea or coffee, or perhaps one drink of spirits. Never remove the clothing, but cover the person up. Rub the limbs and place hot-water bottles around the body. Most persons recover in time, without aid, but those with weak hearts need help. FAINTING Fainting is caused by the arrest of the blood supply to the brain, and is cured by getting the heart to correct the lack. To aid in this have the person lie down with the head lower than the body. Loosen the clothing. Give fresh air. Rub the limbs. Use smelling-salts. Do not let him get up until fully recovered. MAD DOG OR SNAKE BITE Put a tight cord or bandage around the limb between the wound and the heart. Suck the wound many times and wash it with hot water to make it bleed. Burn it with strong ammonia or caustic or a white-hot iron; or cut out the wounded parts with a sharp knife or razor, if you can not get to a doctor. INSECT STINGS Wash with oil or weak ammonia, or very salt water, or paint with iodine. TESTS OF DEATH Hold a cold mirror to the nostrils or mouth. This shows at once if there is any breath. Push a pin into the flesh. If living, the hole will close again; if dead, it will remain open. CINDERS OR SAND IN THE EYE Can be removed with the tip of a lead-pencil, or the wet end of a tiny roll of soft paper. I have seen a woman lick the cinder out of her child's eye when other means were lacking. BOOKS RECOMMENDED "First Aid" By Major Charles Lynch. P. Blakiston Sons & Co., 1017 Walnut St., Philadelphia, 1911. 30 cents. Some Wildwood Remedies or Simples (In case no standard remedies be at hand.) For trees mentioned, but not illustrated here, see Forestry section. Antiseptic or wound-wash: Strong, salt brine, as hot as can be borne: a handful of salt in a quart of water. Balm for wounds: Balsam Fir. The gum was considered a sovereign remedy for wounds, inside or out; it is still used as healing salve, usually spread on a piece of linen and laid over the wound for a dressing. Bleeding, to stop, nose or otherwise: Gather a lot of leaves of witch hazel, dry them, and powder them to snuff. A pinch drawn up the nose or on a wound will stop bleeding. The Indians used a pinch of powder from a puff ball. Bowel complaint: Get about a pound of small roots of sassafras, or else two pounds of the bark, smashed up. Boil in a gallon of water till only one pint of the fluid is left. A tablespoonful of this three times a day is a good remedy for bowel trouble. Chills and fever: Two pounds of white poplar or white willow bark, smashed up and soaked for twenty-four hours in a gallon of water and boiled down to a pint, make a sure remedy for chills and fever. A dessertspoonful four times a day is the proper dose. A tea made of spice bush twigs is a good old remedy for chills and fever. Make it strong, and sip it hot all day. Cold or fever cure: A decoction of the poplar bark or roots of flowering dogwood is a good substitute for quinine, as tonic and cold cure, bowel cure, and fever driver. Cough remedy: (That is, to soften and soothe a cough:) Slippery elm inner bark boiled, a pound to the gallon, boiled down to a pint, and given a teaspoonful every hour. Linseed is used the same way, and is all the better if licorice or sugar of any kind be added. |
