Manual of Military Training Part 131

In the case of women or thin persons place a roll of clothing under them at the waist line before beginning the pressure.

If you happen to be of light build and the patient is a large, heavy person, you will be able to apply the pressure better by raising your knees from the ground, and supporting yourself entirely on your toes and the heels of your hands, properly placed on the floating ribs of the patient.

Do not attempt to give liquids of any kind to the patient while he is unconscious, for he cannot swallow them. They will merely run into his windpipe and choke him, and furthermore, it will take up valuable time.

However, after the patient has regained consciousness you may give him hot coffee or hot whiskey, punch or aromatic spirits of ammonia (a teaspoonful in water).

Then wrap up the patient warmly in hot blankets with hot water bottles, and take him to the nearest hospital or put him to bed and send for a doctor. Why? Because the dirty water in the lungs has damaged the lining and the patient is in danger of lung fever and needs care and nursing.

Aromatic spirits of ammonia may be poured on a handkerchief and held continuously within about three inches of the face and nose. If other ammonia preparations are used, they should be diluted or held farther away. Try it on your own nose first.

The above method of artificial respiration is also applicable in cases of electric shock, suffocation by gas and smoke.

=1494. Earache.= Put a teaspoonful of salt into a quart of water and add 6 teaspoonfuls of tea. Boil it. As soon as it is cool enough to stand the finger, drip some into the nostrils until it falls into the throat. Clear out the nose and throat by sniffing,--_do not blow_ the nose.--and then gargle with the rest of the remedy as hot as can be taken, holding each mouthful well back in the throat. This will often open up the tubes running from the ears to the throat, and relieve the pressure against the ear drum. In addition, a little hot oil may be dropped into the ear. Repeat the treatment in one-half an hour if not successful first time.

=1495. Ear, foreign body in.= Lay the head over, with the affected ear up, and pour in some warm oil or soap suds. This will float the thing up, unless it be a vegetable such as a grain of corn or a bean.

Turning the affected ear down and then jumping, jerking the head, or pounding it gently, may dislodge it.

A little peroxide of hydrogen poured into the ear will often dislodge the substance, especially if it be wax.

In case of an insect, a bright light held near the ear will often cause it to leave the ear to go to the light.

=1496. Electric Shock.= Failure of respiration following an electric shock by lightning or live wire is treated the same as in the case of drowning, omitting, of course, the operation of removing the water out of the lungs.

Do not try to pull a man away from a live wire until you have put on rubber overshoes or gotten a _wooden_ stick with which to get the wire away from him. Otherwise you will yourself get a shock.

=1497. Eye, foreign body in.= Close the eye for a few moments and allow the tears to fill the eye; upon opening it, the body may be washed out by them.

Never rub the eye.

The foreign body can often be removed by keeping the eye open with one hand and splas.h.i.+ng water into it with the other, or by dipping the eye into clean water while holding the eyelid open with the hand.

If the body lies under the lower lid, make the patient look up, and at the same time press down upon the lid; the inner surface of the lid will be exposed, and the foreign body may be brushed off with the corner of a handkerchief.

If the body lies under lid, (1) grasp the lashes of the upper lid and pull it down over the lower, which should at the same time, with the other hand, be pushed up under the upper. Upon repeating this two or three times, the foreign body will often be brushed out on the lower lid.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 16]

(2) If this fails, the upper lid should be turned up; make the patient shut his eye and look down; then with a pencil or some similar article press gently upon the lid at about the middle, and grasping the lashes with the other hand, turn the lid up over the pencil, when its inner surface will be seen, and the foreign body may readily be brushed off.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 17]

If the body is firmly stuck in the surface of the eye, a careful attempt may be made to lift it out with the point of a needle. If not at once successful, do not try again, as you may injure the sight.

Lime, plaster or whitewash in the eye should be washed out with a very weak mixture of vinegar and water. Acids in the eye may be washed with baking soda in water. Olive oil will also afford relief.

After the removal of a foreign body from the eye, a sensation as if of its presence often remains. People not infrequently complain of a foreign body when it has already been removed by natural means.

Sometimes the body has excited a little irritation, which feels like a foreign body. If this sensation remains over night, the eye needs attention, and a surgeon should be consulted; for, it should have pa.s.sed away, if no irritating body is present.

After the removal of an irritating foreign body from the eye, salt water should be poured into it, then b.u.t.ter, lard or olive oil may be used for a salve.

=1498. Fainting.= Fainting is caused by the blood leaving the head.

Therefore, we must get the blood back into the head, which is done by placing the patient on his back, with the head lower than the rest of the body. If necessary, make, by digging, a slight depression in the ground for the head, neck and upper part of shoulders. Also, the head may be placed lower than the rest of the body by putting a couple of folded blankets, or a few folded coats or any other suitable article under the body: also, by raising the feet by hand or otherwise. The clothing should be loosened by unb.u.t.toning and the patient fanned.

Give him as much fresh air as possible,--so, do not let people crowd around him. Mop the face and forehead with a handkerchief soaked in cold water.

=1499. Fish hook.= If a fish hook gets caught in the flesh, push it on through and when the end sticks out, break off the hook and pull it out the other way. Put tincture of iodine on the wound and bandage.

=1500. Fits.= The man falls over suddenly unconscious in a convulsion, which continues until he is blue in the face, when he gradually quiets down and regains consciousness. He is liable to injure himself by the fall and by biting his tongue. Put a stick or cork between his teeth and let him lie quietly undisturbed. Don't try to hold him down or make him sit up. He will come to no harm on the floor and you cannot stop the fit. Ammonia on a handkerchief held under the nose to smell will a.s.sist reviving consciousness. Put him in the hospital at once.

=1501. Fracture.= See, "Broken Bones."

=1502. Freezing.= If a man is overcome by the cold, do not take him into a warm room, or heated tent. Put him into a cool room without draughts and get a doctor at once. Meanwhile loosen his clothing and rub arms and legs towards the heart with cold water and a towel or sponge, using pressure.

When he revives give him hot drinks and wrap him up well in hot blankets and put him in the hospital.

When freezing to death a man feels overcome with sleepiness and stupor. Take a switch or stick and beat him unmercifully. Remember that falling to sleep means death.

=1503. Frost-bite.= The best way to get frost-bitten is to have on damp clothing, such as wet shoes and socks or mittens. The first feeling of frost bite is numbness, and the first sign is marble whiteness.

_Treatment._ Rub the frozen part briskly with snow or ice cold water, if the frost-bite has just occurred. If it has been frozen more than fifteen minutes, _rub very gently_ with snow, cold water or coal oil (kerosene). If you rub hard, it will break the frozen flesh.

Returning pinkness is a sign of thawing; if the parts turn a dark color, see a surgeon at once, for it means gangrene (death of the flesh).

When thawed out apply plenty of oil, tallow or vaseline.

If gangrene has set in and no doctor is available, then treat as a burn.

By all means keep away from heat. To toast frost-bitten fingers or toes before a fire is liable to result in chilblains.

=1504. Headache.= Among troops headache is usually due to intestinal indigestion, combined with a congestion of the stomach. Take a tablespoonful of Worcesters.h.i.+re sauce or 5 drops of tobasco sauce in a tumbler of hot water as a drink and put a small piece of soap up into the bowel to cause a movement.

=1505. Heat exhaustion.= The man falls out in a faint while marching, or on fatigue or parade. He looks pale, his body is clammy and cold, his breathing is sighing and heart fluttering. _What is the matter?_ His heart is weak from poisons in the blood, usually alcohol, but often too much carbonic gas and too little oxygen. This occurs when men are soft-muscled: so, young soldiers, recruits and fat soldiers and especially those who drink alcohol, use drugs or smoke or chew tobacco while hiking, are the first to have it.

_Treatment._ Loosen the man's clothing, remove his pack, lay him on his back in the shade, with head and shoulders lower than his hips and raise his feet in the air. This will make the blood flow to the heart and brain. If he has fainted, slap the bare chest with the hand or a wet towel and briskly rub the arms towards the heart. If he does not revive, apply hot bottles, or bricks to the chest and abdomen, and ammonia to the nose, as a smelling salt. Do not give stimulants until he is conscious. He should ride in the ambulance, or go to the hospital.

=1506. Lightning.= A man struck by lightning is treated the same as in the case of drowning, omitting, of course, the operation of getting the water out of the lungs.

=1507. Nose, foreign body in.= If it cannot be sneezed out, lean the head back and pour a little oil into the nostril. Then snift and blow the nose alternately. If this is not successful, take a lead pencil and try to push the object straight back into the throat. This must be done very gently.

=1508. Poison.= When poison has been swallowed, cause the patient to take a large quant.i.ty of luke-warm water and make him vomit by putting his finger in his throat. Repeat this and then have him swallow the white of two eggs or some milk into which raw flour or corn-starch has been stirred.

If you know he took b.i.+.c.hloride of mercury, you may increase the amount of eggs and give one-half gla.s.s of weak lime water.

If you know he took carbolic acid, give him alcohol (pure alcohol or in the form of gin or whiskey) and plenty of it in order to neutralize the acid.

Get a doctor as soon as possible, and save the vomit and poison not taken, for him to see.

=1509. Scalds.= Apply at once common baking soda or olive oil and cover with a bandage. To sprinkle with flour is also good.