Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/651

 eltusion of blood from these vessels which causes the discoloration. Clearly the treat- ment of bruises must be such as will tend to draw the edges of the injured vessels to- gether, and this can best be done by the application of cold. By covering the injured part with a linen pad soaked in cold water, or, better still, with a mixture of equal parts of spirit and cold water, and keeping it as still as possible, the injury will be so alleviated that it may pass off without even showing discoloration. On the other hand, hot applications and rubbing the injured part tend to open still more the rup- tured blood-vessels, and should, accordingly, be avoided. Sprains are accompanied by ruptured blood-vessels under the skin. They should be tightly bandaged, and should be treated as bruises, but with very intense pain, hot fomentations give greatest ease. When there is doubt about the nature of the injury, it is best to regard it as a fracture, and to treat it accordingly. A grazed shin often seems such a trifling injury that no notice is taken of it until the 625 MCOIOAL pain becomes so severe that medical aid has to be sought. Without proper treatment a grazed shin refuses to heal, and may cause a patient to lie by for many weeks. As soon as possible after the injury the wound should Ixj covered with a clean pad dipped in a mixture of equal parts of Goulard water and cold water, and as soon as the pad is warm it should be replaced by a cool one. Exercise should be reduced to a minimum for a few days, and the wound will soon cover itself with a new skin. A fall out of doors may result in a grazed knee or elbow, and, although the accident appears trifling it may lead to serious i.ssucs. It is now known that germs of lockjaw reside in the earth and gain entrance to the body through an injured skin. Accordingly, cleanliness and antiseptic treatment are necessary. The injured part should be soaked and syringed with warm water con- tainining i in 40 of carbolic acid, and, when all dirt has been removed, the wound should be covered with a linen pad dipped In carbolic solution, and kept covered until it is healed. GEMERAL ACCIDENTS General Accidents — Injuries to the Eye and Ear I. How TO Treat Injuries to the Eye. — There are certain trifling accidents that give rise to great pain, and which, if not attended to promptly may lead to serious consequences. Thus, in travelling by train or motor particles of cinder, sand, or grit occasionally lodge in the eye sac and give rise to great pain. The important thing is to avoid rubbing the eye, as pressure only tends to embed the article in the membrane covering the eyeball. Nature provides a remedy for this particular injury in the form of tears, which, if allowed to collect and fall, will often I i Fir. I. Removing a grain of dust from the eye remove the offending particle. If this fails, blowing the nose very hard sometimes drains away the tears with the hard granule. Failing these simple remedies, help must be given by D 72 raising the eyelid and wiping off the foreign body with a clean handkerchief rolled to a point. Let the patient lean firmly back against the operator, who will thus be able to hold the eye open bv turning the upper Ud back over a match or small piece of wood (fig. i). If the particle is so firmly embedded that it cannot be wiped off, a drop of olive oil or castor oil should be dropped on the eyeball, and the eye covered with a bandage until medical aid can be procured. By accident a drop of corrosive fluid may be splashed into the eye, and most prompt treat- ment must be applied to neutralise the effect of the fluid. An acid splash should be treated by applying an alkali, of which the bicarbonates of soda and of potash are the best among homely remedies ; while an alkali should be neutralised by bathing the eye with weak vinegar. 2. Foreign Bodies in the Ear. — Lovers of rural Ufe often experience the unpleasant sensa- tion of a small insect in the ear. which in its efforts to extricate itself seems to produce deafening noises. The treatment is very simple. The patient should have the head supported with the affected ear upwards, and into the channel of the ear should be poured a little olive oil, which should be made lukewarm by placing it in a teaspoon over a lighted candle. The drowned insect will float on the oil. whence it can be removed, while the ear can be drained by absorbing the oil with cotton-wool. Some enterprising children are very fond of putting peas, beads, and stones in the ear, and occasionally one gets pushed in so far as to become fast. This occasions an injury which should not be meddled with by the lay person, unless medical aid is quite unobtainable. Then, by pressing against the ear with the point of a ball-pointed pen, the foreign body may be eased .so as to fall out when the head' is bent over : but if medical aid is possible the only first aid treatment advisable is to prevent the child touching the ear, either by covering it with a bandage or by tying the child's bands. I T