Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/387

 By MARY WESTAWAY (Associate of the National Health Society) The Subject of Haemorrhage— In cases or AtfcidentSt the Flow of Blood must be Stopped— The various Kinds of Bleeding and How to Treat Each— Pressure Points and How to Find Them JWIANY personal injuries occasion loss of blood, is(^d bv the same symptom. The most important pnrl of the study of first aid concerns itself with I lie control of haemorrhage, for " the blood is the How to place a bandage to check bleeding from the palm of the hand Ufe." and if blood is allowed to flow without check, life ebbs with it. Thus, in the treatment; of all accidental injuries, haemorrhage, when present, must receive the first attention. The Circulatory System In the first place it must be understood that pure blood is pumped by the heart from its left side through the arteries of the body, which, branching in their course, become smaller the farther they are away from the heart, until they are so minutely divided that they merge into a network of small blood-vessels, known as capil- laries. These permeate the tissues, and, wfiile supplying them with nourishment, carry off their waste products, which are conveyed by the blood through other and larger vessels known as veins. The veins pour the impure blood into the right side of the heart, whence it is sent to the lungs to be purified before finding its way back again to the left side of the heart ready to repeat its course through the body. Varieties of Hsemorrhas^e Thus blood may flow from injured arteries, capillaries, or veins. It is not difficult to recog- nise the source of blood in haemorrhage, and to apply treatment according to the kind of blood- vessel which is discharging. 1. Blood which flows from capillaries is of a dull red colour and oozes from the injured part in small quantities. 2. Blood which flows from veins is of a dark purple colour. It issues freely with a steady flow, and will be found to come chiefly from that side of the injury which is farther from the heart. 3. Arterial blood may be recognised by the bright scarlet colour and by the way in which it leaves the injured vessel in spurts, or jets, which correspond with the beating of the heart. Such blood issues chiefly from that side of the wound which is nearer the heart. All external haemorrhage can be controlled by pressure, provided it is exerted at the right place. Pressure, in the first place, should be made on the wound itself without the loss of a single moment. The thumb seems to be specially designed by Nature for pressure, and therefore should be brought into action at once, Arm flexed on rolled coat'slecve to control arterial bleeding below the elbow and kept in use until other remedies or sub- stitutes can be arranged. With trifling accidents, thumb pressure is all that is needed, and Nature soon provides a clot of blood which hermetically seals the wound.
 * * -^ and certain diseased conditions are character-