First Aid

(Rudimentary) (Second Aid, and best, is bring the doctor)

To Revive From Drowning

AS SOON as the patient is in a safe place, loosen the clothing if any. 2) Empty the lungs of water, by laying the body breast down, and lifting it by the middle, with the head hanging down. Hold thus for a few seconds, till the water is evidently out.

(3) Turn the patient on his breast, face downward.

(4) Give artificial respiration thus: by pressing the lower ribs down and forward toward the head, then release. Repeat about twelve times to the minute.

(5) Apply warmth and friction to extremities, rubbing toward the heart.

(6) DON'T GIVE UP! Persons have been saved after hours of steady effort, and after being under water over twenty minutes.

(7) When natural breathing is reestablished, put the patient into warm bed, with hot-water bottles, warm drinks, or stimulants, in teaspoonfuls, fresh air, and quiet. Let him sleep, and all will be well.

Sunstroke

(1) Reduce the temperature of the patient and the place - that is, move the patient at once to a cooler spot, if possible, in the shade.

(2) Loosen or remove the clothing about the neck and body.

(3) Apply cold water or ice to the head and body, or even wrap the patient in sheets wet from time to time with cold water.

(4) Use no stimulant, but allow free use of cold water to drink.

Burns And Scalds

Exclude the air by covering the burn with a thin paste of baking-soda, starch, flour, vaseline, olive oil, linseed oil, castor-oil, lard, cream, or cold cream. Cover the burn first with the smear; next with a soft rag soaked in the smear.

Shock always accompanies severe burns, and must be treated.

Hemorrhage, Or Internal Bleeding

This is usually from the lungs or stomach. If from the lungs, the blood is bright-red and frothy, and is coughed up; if from the stomach, it is dark, and is vomited. Cause the patient to lie down, with head lower than body. Small pieces of ice should be swallowed, and ice-bags, or snow, cold water, etc., applied to the place whence it comes. Hot applications may be applied to the extremities, but avoid stimulants, unless the patient is very weak.

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, half-dead 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 cannot 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.