Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/2085

Rh passed, wrap the part in cotton wool, and apply a good firm bandage (india-rubber if it can be had) to diminish the swelling and give a feeling of security when the patient is able to move about. Later on, if the part is still not quite right, use the cold douche, and friction it with a rough towel.

Suffocation.—Treatment.—If the person is found hanging, he should be at once cut down and artificial respiration employed, as in drowning. If the suffocation results from articles of food blocking up the throat, the treatment recommended in choking must be had recourse to. Should the suffocation be the result of breathing coal-gas or sewer-gas, or by being in a room in which charcoal has been burnt, get the patient into the fresh air as speedily as possible, dash cold water in the face, and then perform artificial respiration.

Sunstroke.—Treatment.—Dash cold water over the face and head, apply ice or ice cloths or cold water to the head, and give a teaspoonful of spirit of sal-volatile in water. Tea or coffee may be given afterwards. The patient should be placed in the shade as soon as possible.

Swallowing a Stone or Coin.—If symptoms of choking follow, act as directed in the paragraph "Choking." If a stone has been swallowed or a small coin, and if it has apparently passed into the stomach, a quantity of porridge or hasty pudding may be taken, to be followed 2 hours later by a dose of castor-oil. A doctor should be consulted, and if the article should have stuck in the gullet, he may be able to recover it by means of an instrument called the coin catcher.

The simplest are those in which the tissues are clean cut through, and where the edges, when brought together, fit accurately the one to the other.

Treatment.—Remove all dust or dirt from the region of the wound by thorough washing with pure soap and water, and bring the edges carefully together by means of a bandage or strips of plaster. Keep at rest for a few days.

Contused or lacerated wounds should be treated by cleansing the parts with Sanitas and water, carbolic acid and water (1 teaspoonful of the acid to 8 or 10 ounces of water), or Condy's Fluid and water, then place a piece of lint or rag soaked in carbolic lotion (1 part in 20 of water) over the wound, and draw the edges as nearly as possible together. If it still contains gravel or dirt, boroglyceride fomentation (as described in "Recipes for Sick Nurses ") should be regularly applied when the bleeding has ceased.

Perforating wounds are dangerous because of their depth, and the greater possibility of their containing dirt.

Treatment.—The best treatment is to foment them from the first with hot boroglyceride fomentations, and to ensure that they heal from the bottom upwards.