GENERAL HINTS IN TIME OF ACCIDENT Keep cool. Try and keep others cool. This is the great need. In time of panic, or fire, or accident, serious results may be avoided if some person is calm enough to take charge of things and inspire confi dence. It is well for one to get ac customed to the sight of blood. Many cannot control themselves un der such circumstances. It is a good practice to witness an operation oc casionally, or to assist in dressing a wound 'for the purpose of schooling oneself. Always send for a surgeon immediately in time of accident. In doing so, explain as fully as possible what the difficulty is, or probably may be, so that the physician can come prepared. Always see that the patient is made comfortable in a quiet place. Keep curious people away. Loosen collars and corset, es pecially all clothing about the neck and chest. If the face of the injured or unconscious person is pale, lower the head. In sunstroke, or where the individual's face is flushed, have the head high. Do not do too much. Do not touch affected parts with the hands. Moisten clothing in removing from wounds. In many instances it will be best to cut off the clothing to prevent further injury.
How to Dress Wounds.—The first essential is to thoroughly cleanse the wound and remove all foreign mate rial. This can be done with clean water which has been boiled for at least ten minutes. The hands and arms to the elbow should be cleansed. The water can be applied with ster ilized absorbent cotton. After the wound is thus cleansed, use a mild antiseptic wash. A saturated solu tion of boric acid (not borax) may be used. By saturated solution is meant as much boric acid as water will contain in solution.
If the wound is a smooth cut, it will bleed profusely, as the blood has difficulty in securing a hold in order to clot. After the wound is cleansed, the edges of it can be brought to gether by means of adhesive plaster. Where this cannot be done, a surgeon will be required to stitch the edges together.
If the head be injured, the patient should lie down with the head resting upon a pillow or cushion covered with a clean towel, taking care that the injured part be kept from con tact with surrounding articles.
If the arm be injured, it should, as a rule, be brought across in front of the chest and supported in a sling.
If the lower limb be wounded, it may be supported in a comfortable position by resting upon a cushion or blanket.
In wounds of the chest, the head and shoulders should be raised by one or more pillows until the patient is able to breathe comfortably.
If the abdomen be wounded, the patient should be made lie down, with his knees drawn up, and turned over toward the uninjured side; or upon the back if the wound be in front.
Before dressing the wound the nails should be thoroughly cleansed with a brush and rings removed from the fingers. After cleansing the hands, do not touch anything not ab solutely clean. All vessels used should be cleansed with boiling water before using.
If the wound is jagged, the dead pieces of tissue must be removed and extra precaution taken to remove all foreign particles; the latter can be removed with pincers. Never close up a wound until the bleeding has been stopped, as a small artery may be ruptured, and this must be con trolled first. If the wound is covered with grease or soot or dirt, it can be removed by using gauze moistened in turpentine or benzine.
A punctured wound, such as an in jury produced by stepping on a nail or from the penetration of the point of an ice pick is dangerous, because the wound closes and excludes the air, thus making the wound favor able to the development of the lock jaw germ. This is all the more likely to occur if one steps on a rusty nail in the vicinity of a stable, as the lockjaw germ, or tetanus germ, is a dirt germ and thrives in such lo calities.
The best treatment for a closed wound is to open it and let the air in, and keep it thus exposed, as the lock jaw germ cannot thrive in the pres ence of air. Of course the wound when thus opened should be cleansed the same as any other wound.
If a needle or splinter has been the cause of the wound, see that not a particle remains.
In removing a splinter, see that a fair amount of the splinter is ex posed, so that a good hold can be got on it by inserting the blade of a penknife under it, and press down upon the flesh around the top of the splinter with the thumb nail and draw it out gently. Sometimes it is necessary to enlarge the wound some to get at the splinter or other object. If the splinter is under a finger nail, it may be necessary to pare away much of the nail in order to expose the splinter.
After wounds are ready for final dressing, cover the wound with felted cotton, then apply bandages. Fish hooks usually have to be pushed through the tissues, as they cannot be withdrawn. The eyelet of the hook will have to be filed or cut off to allow it to pass through.