The People's Common Sense Medical Adviser in Plain English Part 151

The treatment of injuries received from the fracture of bones and the dislocation of joints should never be attempted by the inexperienced, nor should the management be left to incompetent physicians but _skillful_ surgical aid should at once be summoned.

SPRAINS.

A sprain consists of a sudden and forcible stretching of the ligaments and tendons connected with a joint, without there being any dislocation.

It is attended with severe pain and is followed by rapid swelling.

The treatment should consist of measures to prevent inflammation, promote absorption, and restore a healthy action. The affected part should be kept at rest in an elevated position, and hot or cold water applied frequently. If there is much inflammation, fomentations of hops may be used. The Compound Extract of Smart-weed is an excellent application.

When the acute symptoms have disappeared, absorption should be favored by systematic rubbing and the application of stimulating liniments, or by the use of a well-adjusted bandage. Pa.s.sive motion may be resorted to gradually and the subject may use the joint moderately. Should any stiffness remain, warm salt water douches should be employed and the Extract of Smart-weed applied once a day.

BRUISES.

Bruises or contusions are caused by falls, wrenches, or blows from blunt instruments, without breaking the skin. The soft tissues are lacerated and blood is poured out into them, const.i.tuting _ecchymosis_. The discoloration pa.s.ses through various shades from a bluish-black to a violet, a green, and finally, a yellow.

If the bruise is severe, the affected part should be kept at rest and frequently bathed with the Compound Extract of Smart-weed or the tincture of arnica. If inflammatory symptoms supervene, fomentations and poultices should be applied.

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE NOSE.

Foreign bodies, such as beads, peas, coffee-grains, and small gravel-stones are occasionally introduced into the nostrils of children, becoming fastened there, and causing great anxiety and alarm. If allowed to remain, they generally cause inflammation and suffering.

Such bodies may generally be washed out by gently injecting a stream of tepid salt water with a syringe or Dr. Pierce's Nasal Douche. In no case should force be used. If these means fail, a competent surgeon should be consulted.

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE THROAT AND AIR-Pa.s.sAGES.

Foreign bodies are generally arrested so high up that they may be seen by simply depressing the tongue, and removed with the finger or a pair of forceps. The head should be thrown back in such a position as to cause the chin to project as little as possible beyond the prominence known as Adam's apple, in order that the finger or forceps may be readily introduced and the body released and ejected. When the foreign bodies are so small as to pa.s.s out of sight in the larynx, windpipe, or esophagus, it is generally difficult to extract them, and the services of a surgeon are required. Fortunately, however, there is not much immediate danger from suffocation in such cases.

DROWNING.

Recovery from drowning sometimes occurs when life is apparently extinct.

The treatment, however, should be immediate and energetic, and should be given in the open air, unless the weather be too cold.

TREATMENT. The patient should be gently placed upon the face with his wrists under his forehead. The tongue will then fall forward and the water run out of his mouth and throat, while the windpipe, or air-pa.s.sage, will be free. To restore respiration, he should be instantly turned upon his right side, his nostrils excited with snuff or ammonia, and cold water dashed upon his face and chest. If this operation prove unsuccessful, replace the patient upon his face, care being taken to raise and support his chest, turn the body gently on the side and quickly again upon the face. Alternate these movements about every four seconds, and occasionally change sides. When the body is turned on the face, gentle but efficient pressure should be made along the back, between the shoulder blades, to a.s.sist in forcing the air out of the lungs, but this pressure ought to be removed before the patient is turned back on his side. Persistently repeat this operation, and success will often be the reward. As soon as respiration is established, warmth may be promoted by the application of warm flannels to the body and bottles of hot water to the stomach, armpits, thighs, and feet.

During the entire process of restoration, the body should be thoroughly rubbed _upwards_. Turning the body upon the back or handling it roughly should be avoided. The person should not be held up by his feet, or be rubbed with salt or spirits. Rolling the body on a cask is improper, and injections of the smoke infusion of tobacco are injurious. Avoid the constant application of the warm bath, and do not allow a crowd to surround the body.

FAINTING.

When a person faints, _he should be allowed to remain or be placed in a rec.u.mbent posture_, and his clothing immediately loosened. The extremities should be rubbed, the patient permitted to have plenty of fresh air, and, if at hand, ammonia or camphor should be applied to the nostrils.

BURNS AND SCALDS.

The danger arising from burns and scalds depends not only upon the extent of surface involved, but also upon the depth of the injury. Burns are most dangerous when occurring upon the head, chest, or abdomen.

TREATMENT. Soothing applications, and those which will exclude the air, should be made. Grated potato, poultices of slippery-elm, sweet oil, cotton saturated in a mixture composed of two or three grains of carbolic acid and two ounces of glycerine, and linseed oil and white lead, are all beneficial for the treatment of burns. If internal treatment be necessary, it should be given under the direction of a competent physician.

SUN-STROKE.

In cases of sun-stroke, the patient should be at once removed into the shade. If the face is _flushed_, apply cold water to the head and neck, and mustard to the feet. The body should be bathed in tepid water and the head slightly elevated. If the countenance is pale, the symptoms denote exhaustion, and the patient should be kept in a rec.u.mbent position, the extremities rubbed, camphor and ammonia inhaled, mustard applied to the spine, and stimulants, such as brandy or whiskey, should be administered.

POISONS AND THEIR ANTIDOTES.

----------------------+-------------------------------------------------- POISONS. ANTIDOTES.

----------------------+-------------------------------------------------- ACIDS. Acetic Acid. Alkalies--carbonate of soda and potash--also Citric Acid. lime and magnesia are antidotes to these Muriatic Acid. poisons. As soon as the acid is neutralized, Tartaric Acid. mucilaginous teas, such as flax-seed, gum arabic, or slippery-elm, may be given.

Sulphuric Acid Soap, in solution, or magnesia will counteract (Oil of Vitriol). its influence. Water should _not_ be given as it causes great heat when mixed with this acid.

Nitric Acid Lime-water, carbonates of lime and magnesia (Aqua Fortis). in solution, are the only antidotes. Give Oxalic Acid. mucilaginous drinks.

Carbolic Acid. There is no special antidote. Oil, glycerine, milk, flour and water, white of eggs, magnesia, and flax-seed tea may be used.

Prussic Acid. Ammonia, by inhalation or in solution, may Laurel Water. be used. Apply a cold _douche_ to the head.

Oil of Bitter Almonds. These agents are speedily fatal. ----------------------+-------------------------------------------------- ALKALIES. Liquor of Ammonia. Vegetable acids, such as vinegar, lemon-juice, Water of Ammonia. citric and tartaric acids, neutralize this Muriate of Ammonia. poison.

Liquor of Pota.s.sa. All the fixed oils, such as linseed, castor Nitrate of Pota.s.sa and sweet oil, also almonds and melted lard (Saltpetre). destroy the caustic effects of these poisons Carbonate of Pota.s.sa Mucilaginous drinks may be given.

(Pearlash). Salts of Tartar.

--------------------+----------------------------------------------------- POISONS. ANTIDOTES, --------------------+----------------------------------------------------- IODINE. Starch, wheat flour mixed with water, In its whites of eggs, milk, and mucilaginous different forms. drinks are excellent antidotes.

--------------------+----------------------------------------------------- VOLATILE OILS AND AGENTS. The same antidotes as in case of poisoning Creosote with iodine may be used in this, or the (Oil of Smoke). stomach may be evacuated with an emetic or a Oil of Tar. stomach-pump.

Oil of Turpentine. --------------------+----------------------------------------------------- A powerful emetic of white vitriol or mustard should be given at once, cold should be ALCOHOL. applied to the head, and the extremities vigorously rubbed.

--------------------+----------------------------------------------------- ANTIMONY AND ITS COMPOUNDS. If vomiting has not occurred, induce it by tickling the throat and giving large draughts Tartar Emetic of warm water, after which administer b.u.t.ter of Antimony astringents, such as infusions of galls, oak bark, Oxide of Antimony. Peruvian bark, or strong green tea.

--------------------+----------------------------------------------------- a.r.s.eNIC AND ITS COMPOUNDS. White a.r.s.enic. Oils, or fats lard, melted b.u.t.ter, or milk Yellow Sulphuret of should be given, then induce vomiting with a.r.s.enic sulphate of zinc, sulphate of copper or Red Sulphuret of mustard; fine powdered iron rust or magnesia a.r.s.enic may be given every five or ten minutes.

King's Yellow. Mucilaginous drinks should be given as soon Fly Powder. as the stomach is evacuated.

a.r.s.enical Paste. a.r.s.enical Soap. Scheele's Green. Paris Green. --------------------+----------------------------------------------------- COPPER AND ITS COMPOUNDS. Avoid the USE of vinegar. Give alb.u.minous substances, such as milk, whites of eggs, wheat Blue Vitriol flour in water, or magnesia; yellow prussiate Verdigris. of potash in solution may also be given freely.

--------------------------+------------------------------------- POISONS ANTIDOTES.

--------------------------+------------------------------------- LEAD AND ITS COMPOUNDS. In lead, or painters' colic purgatives and anodynes may be given, together Acetate of Lead with large doses of iodide of (Sugar of Lead) pota.s.sium.

White Lead. Red Lead. Litharge. --------------------------+-------------------------------- MERCURY AND ITS COMPOUNDS. Alb.u.men in some form should be given; if the poison is not Corrosive Sublimate. absorbed, follow with a mustard White Precipitate. or lobelia emetic.

Red Precipitate. Calomel. --------------------------+----------------------------------- ACRONARCOTICS. The general treatment indicated for Ergot this cla.s.s of poisons, is to Black h.e.l.lebore. evacuate the stomach with a Veratrum Viride stomach-pump or an emetic composed (American h.e.l.lebore). of fifteen or twenty grains of Aconite. sulphate of zinc or copper, or large Foxglove. doses of mustard, repeated every Gelseminum. quarter of an hour until the full effect is produced.

Belladonna. Morphine, sa.s.safras, iodine, and Stramonium. stimulants.

Nux Vomica. Large doses of camphor, chloroform, Strychnia. and tobacco, may all be beneficial.

Poison Oak. Muriate of ammonia, in solution, may Poison Vine. be applied externally, and from ten to fifteen grains given internally; soda is also useful.

--------------------------+----------------------------------- NARCOTICS White Henbane. Sa.s.safras may be used as an antidote Opium. for henbane. Belladonna is an antidote of opium; cold water should also be applied to the head of the patient, and the extremities should be well rubbed.

--------------------------+----------------------------------- ANIMAL POISONS. Excite vomiting by drinking sweet oil. Sugar and water, milk, or Spanish Fly. linseed tea in large quant.i.ties, and Potato Fly. emollient injections are valuable.