unconscious. Untie strings, collars, &c.; loosen anything that is
tight, and interferes with the breathing; raise the head; see if there
is bleeding from any part; apply smelling-salts to the nose, and hot
bottles to the feet.
1330. Concussion.
In concussion, the surface of the body is cold and pale, and the pulse
weak and small, the breathing slow and _gentle_, and the pupil of the
eye generally contracted or small. You can get an answer by speaking
loud, so as to arouse the patient. Give a little brandy and water,
keep the place quiet, apply warmth, and do not raise the head too
high. If you tickle the feet, the patient feels it.
1331. Compression of the Brain.
In compression of the brain from any cause, such as apoplexy, or a
piece of fractured bone pressing on it, there is loss of sensation. If
you tickle the feet of the injured person he does not feel it. You
cannot arouse him so as to get an answer. The pulse is slow and
laboured; the breathing deep, laboured, and _snorting_; the pupil
enlarged. Raise the head, loosen strings or tight things, and send
for a surgeon. If one cannot be got at once, apply mustard poultices
to the feet and thighs, leeches to the temples and hot water to the
feet.
1332. Choking.
When a person has a fish bone in the throat, insert the forefinger,
press upon the root of the tongue, so as to induce vomiting; if this
does not do, let him swallow a _large piece_ of potato or soft bread;
and if these fail, give a mustard emetic.
1333. Fainting, Hysterics, &c.
Loosen the garments, bathe the temples with water or eau-de-Cologne;
open the window, admit plenty of fresh air, dash cold water on the
face, apply hot bricks to the feet, and avoid bustle and excessive
sympathy.
1334. Drowning.
Attend to the following _essential rules_:
i. Lose no time.
ii. Handle the body gently.
iii. Carry the body face downwards, with the head gently raised, and
never hold it up by the feet.
iv. Send for medical assistance immediately, and in the meantime act
as follows:
v. Strip the body, rub it dry: then wrap it in hot blankets, and
place it in a warm bed in a warm room.
vi. Cleanse away the froth and mucus from the nose and mouth.
vii. Apply warm bricks, bottles, bags of sand, &c., to the armpits,
between the thighs, and to the soles of the feet.
viii. Rub the surface of the body with the hands enclosed in warm
dry worsted socks.
ix. If possible, put the body into a warm bath.
x. To restore breathing, put the pipe of a common bellows into one
nostril, carefully closing the other, and the mouth; at the same
time drawing downwards, and pushing gently backwards, the upper part
of the windpipe, to allow a more free admission of air; blow the
bellows gently, in order to inflate the lungs, till the breast be
raised a little; then set the mouth and nostrils free, and press
gently on the chest: repeat this until signs of life appear. The
body should be covered the moment it is placed on the table, except
the face, and all the rubbing carried on under the sheet or blanket.
When they can be obtained, a number of tiles or bricks should be
made tolerably hot in the fire, laid in a row on the table, covered
with a blanket, and the body placed in such a manner on them, that
their heat may enter the spine. When the patient revives, apply
smelling-salts to the nose, give warm wine or brandy and water.
_Cautions_.
i. Never rub the body with salt or spirits.
ii. Never roll the body on casks,
iii. Continue the remedies for twelve hours without ceasing.
[PURE WATER IS BETTER THAN FOUL WINE.]
1335. Hanging.
Loosen the cord, or whatever it may be by which the person has been
suspended. Open the temporal artery or jugular vein, or bleed from the
arm; employ electricity, if at hand, and proceed as for drowning,
taking the additional precaution to apply eight or ten leeches to the
temples.
1336. Apparent Death from Drunkenness.
Raise the head, loosen the clothes, maintain warmth of surface, and
give a mustard emetic as soon as the person can swallow.
1337. Apoplexy and Fits Generally.
Raise the head; loosen all tight clothes, strings, &c.; apply cold
lotions to the head, which should be shaved; apply leeches to the
temples, bleed, and send for a surgeon.
1338. Suffocation from Noxious Gases, &c.
Remove to the fresh air; dash cold vinegar and water in the face,
neck, and breast; keep up the warmth of the body; if necessary, apply
mustard poultices to the soles of the feet and spine, and try
artificial respirations as in drowning, with electricity.
1339. Lightning and Sun Stroke.
Treat the same as apoplexy.
1340. Poisons, General Observations.
The abbreviations used are as follows:--
E., effects or symptoms.
T., treatment.
A., antidotes or counter poisons.
D.A., dangerous antidotes.
1341. Poison.
A poison is a _substance_ which is capable of altering or destroying
some or all of the functions necessary to life. When a person is in
good health, and is suddenly attacked, after having taken some food or
drink, with violent pain, cramp in the stomach, feeling of sickness or
nausea, vomiting, convulsive twitchings, and a sense of suffocation;
or if he be seized, under the same circumstances, with giddiness,
delirium, or unusual sleepiness, then it may be supposed that he has
been poisoned.
1342. Classes of Poisons.
Poisons have been divided into four classes:
i. Those causing local symptoms.
ii. Those producing spasmodic symptoms.
iii. Narcotic or sleepy symptoms; and
iv. Paralytic symptoms.
Poisons may be mineral, animal, or vegetable.
1343. Procedure.
i. Always send immediately for a Medical Man.
ii. Save all fluids vomited, and articles of food, cups, glasses,
&c., used by the patient before being taken ill, and lock them up.
iii. Examine the cups to guide you in your treatment; that is, smell
them, and look at them.
1344. Give and Apply.
As a rule give emetics after poisons that cause sleepiness and
raving;--chalk, milk, eggs, butter, and warm water, or oil, after
poisons that cause vomiting and pain in the stomach and bowels, with
purging; and when there is no inflammation about the throat, tickle it
with a feather to excite vomiting.
1345. Arsenic.
(_White arsenic; orpiment, or yellow arsenic; realgar, red arsenic;
Scheele's green, or arsenite of copper; King's yellow; ague drops_;
and _arsenical paste_.)
E. Little or no taste. Within an hour, heat and pain in the stomach,
followed by vomiting of green, yellow, and bloody matter, burning,
and violent thirst; purging, and twisting about the navel; pulse
small, quick, and irregular, breathing laboured, voice hoarse,
speaking painful; skin cold and clammy. Sometimes there are cramps
and convulsions, followed by death.
T. Give plenty of warm water, _new milk_ in large quantities, lime
water, white of egg, mixed with gruel or honey, gruel, linseed tea;
apply leeches to the bowels, foment, and give starch or gruel
enemas. Scrape the iron rust off anything you can get at, mix it
with plenty of water, and give in large draughts frequently, and
give an emetic of mustard or ipecacuanha. The chief dependence,
however, must be placed on the use of the stomach-pump.
_Caution_.--Never give large draughts of fluid until those given
before have been vomited, because the stomach will not contract
properly if filled with fluid, and the object is to get rid of the
poison as speedily as possible.
1346. Copper.
(_Blue vitriol_, or _bluestone; verdigris; verditer; verdigris
crystals_.)
E. An acid, rough, disagreeable taste in the mouth; a dry, parched
tongue, with sense of strangling in the throat; coppery eructations;
frequent spitting; nausea; frequent desire and effort to vomit, or
copious vomiting; severe darting pains in the stomach; griping;
frequent purging; belly swollen and painful; skin hot, and violent
burning thirst; breathing difficult; intense headache and giddiness,
followed by cold sweats, cramps in the legs, convulsions, and death.
A. White of eggs mixed with water (twelve to one pint), to be given
in wineglassfuls every two minutes; iron filings mixed with water,
or very strong coffee, accompanied by small and repeated doses of
castor oil.
D.A. Vinegar, bark, alkalies, gall nuts.
T. If there is much pain in the belly or stomach, apply leeches.
Give large draughts of milk and water, to encourage vomiting.
1347. Mercury.
(_Corrosive sublimate; calomel; red precipitate; vermilion; turbeth
mineral; prussiate of mercury_.)
E. Acid metallic taste; tightness and burning in the throat; pain in
the back part of the mouth, stomach, and bowels; anxiety of
countenance; nausea; and vomiting of bloody and bilious fluids;
profuse purging, and difficulty of making water; pulse small, hard,
and quick; skin clammy, icy coldness of the hands and feet; and
death in 24 or 36 hours.
A. White of eggs mixed with water, given as above; milk; flour and
water, mixed pretty thick; linseed tea; and barley water.
T. Give large draughts of warm water, if you cannot get anything
else; strong emetic of ipecacuanha, the stomach-pump, a dose of
castor oil and laudanum. Apply poppy-head fomentations to bowels,
and leeches if the belly is very tender.
1348. Antimony.
(_Tartar emetic; butter of; Kermes' mineral_.)
E. A rough metallic taste in the mouth, nausea, copious vomitings,
sudden hiccough, purging, pains resembling those caused by colic,
frequent and violent cramps, sense of choking, severe heartburn,
pain at the pit of the stomach, difficult breathing, wildness of
speech, cramp in the legs, and death.
A. Decoction or tincture of galls; strong tea; decoction or powder
of Peruvian bark.
D.A. White vitriol, ipecacuanha, as emetics.
T. Give large draughts of water, or sugar and water, to promote
vomiting; apply leeches to the throat and stomach if painful; and
give one grain of extract of opium dissolved in a wineglassful of
sugar and water, as soon as the vomiting ceases, and repeat three
times at intervals of a quarter of an hour; and finally, one grain,
in a little castor oil emulsion, every six hours.
1349. Tin.
(_Butter of tin; putty powder_.)
E. Colic and purging.
A. Milk.
T. Give warm or cold water to promote vomiting, or tickle the throat
with a feather.
1350. Zinc.
(_White vitriol; flowers of; chloride of_.)
E. An astringent taste, sensation of choking, nausea, vomiting,
purging, pain and burning in the throat and stomach, difficult
breathing, pallor and coldness of the surface, pinched face, cramps
of the extremities, but, with the exception of the chloride, seldom
death.
A. For the two first give copious draughts of milk, and white of
eggs and water, mucilage, and olive oil; for the third, carbonate of
soda, and warm water in frequent draughts, with the same as for the
other compounds.
T. Relieve urgent symptoms by leeching and fomentations, and after
the vomiting give castor oil. For the chloride, use friction and
warmth.
[BREATH MAY BLOW OUT A CANDLE, AN EXTINGUISHER PREVENT FIRE.]
1351. Silver, Gold and Bismuth.
Silver: (_Lunar caustic; flowers of silver_);
Gold (_Chloride of_);
and Bismuth (_Nitrate; flowers of; pearl white_),
are not frequently met with as poisons.
E. Burning pain in the throat, mouth, accompanied with the usual
symptoms of corrosive poisons.
A. For silver, common salt and water; for gold and bismuth, no
antidotes are known.
T. Give milk and mucilaginous fluids, and castor oil.
1352. Acids.
(_Hydrochloric_, or _spirit of salt; nitric_, or _aquafortis;
sulphuric_, or _oil of vitriol_.)
E. Acid burning taste, acute pain in the gullet and throat, vomiting
of bloody fluid, which effervesces when chalk is added to it;
hiccough, tenderness of the belly, cold sweats, pinched face,
convulsions, and death.
A. Give _calcined_ magnesia, chalk, soap and water. Administer
frequent draughts of water to weaken the acid with carbonate of
soda, potass, or magnesia, to neutralize it; thick soap-suds made
with common soap; chalk, or in default of the alkalies and chalk,
break down the plaster of the wall or ceiling, mix in water, and
give the sufferer. Excite vomiting, and repeat the remedies till all
the acid is neutralized.
1353. Chlorine (_gas_).
E. Violent coughing, tightness of the chest, debility, inability to
stand.
A. The vapour of caustic ammonia to be inhaled, or ten drops of
liquid ammonia to one ounce of water to be taken.
T. Dash cold water over the face, and relieve urgent symptoms.
1354. Lead.
(_Sugar of; red lead; wine sweetened by; and water impregnated with_).
E. Sugary astringent metallic taste, tightness of the throat, pains
as if caused by colic, violent vomiting, hiccough, convulsions, and
death.
A. Epsom or Glauber's salt; plaster of Paris; or phosphate of soda.
T. An emetic of sulphate of zinc (twenty-four grains to half a pint
of water); leeches to belly; fomentations if necessary; and a dose
of castor oil mixed with laudanum.
1355. Phosphorus.
E. Intense burning and pain in the throat and stomach.
A. Magnesia and carbonate of soda.
T. Large draughts of cold water, and tickle the throat with a
feather.
_Caution_. Do not give oil or milk.
1356. Lime.
E. Burning in the throat and stomach, cramps in the belly, hiccough,
vomiting, and paralysis of limbs.
A. Vinegar or lemon juice.
T. Thin starch water to be drunk frequently.
1357. Alkalies.
(_Caustic potash; soda; ammonia_.)
E. Acrid, hot, disagreeable taste; burning in the throat, nausea,
and vomiting bloody matter; profuse purging, pain in the stomach,
colic, convulsions, and death.
A. Vinegar and vegetable acids
T. Give linseed tea, milk, almond or olive oil, and excite vomiting.
1358. Baryta
(_Carbonate, pure_, and _muriate_ of, _See_ LIME para. 1356.)
1359. Nitre.
E. Heartburn, nausea, violent vomiting, purging, convulsions,
difficult breathing, violent pain in the bowels, kidneys, and
bladder, with bloody urine.
T. Emetics, frequent draughts of barley water, with castor oil and
laudanum.
1360. Narcotic Poisons.
(_Bane berries; fool's parsley; deadly nightshade; water hemlock;
thorn apple; opium, or laudanum; camphor, &c._)
E. Giddiness, faintness, nausea, vomiting, stupor, delirium, and
death.
T. Give emetics, large draughts of fluids, tickle the throat, apply
smelling salts to the nose, dash cold water over the face and chest,
apply mustard poultices, and, above all, endeavour to rouse the
patient by walking between two persons; and, if possible, by
electricity; and give forty drops of sal-volatile in strong coffee
every half-hour.
1361. Vegetable Irritating Poisons.
(_Mezsreon; monk's-hood; bitter apple; gamboge; white hellebore, &c._)
E. Acrid, biting, bitter taste, choking sensation, dryness of the
throat, retching, vomiting, purging, pains in the stomach and
bowels, breathing difficult, and death.
T. Give emetics of camomile, mustard, or sulphate of zinc; large
draughts of warm milk, or other bland fluids; foment and leech the
belly if necessary, and give strong _infusion_ of coffee.
[TAKE CARE OF PENCE, POUNDS WILL TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES.]
1362. Oxalic Acid.
E. Vomiting and acute pain in the stomach, general debility, cramps,
and death.
A. Chalk.
T. Give large draughts of lime water or magnesia.
1363. Spanish Flies.
E. Acrid taste, burning heat in the throat, stomach, and belly,
bloody vomitings, colic, purging, retention of urine, convulsions,
death.
T. Large draughts of olive oil; thin gruel, milk, starch enemas,
linseed tea, laudanum, and camphorated water.
1364. Poisonous Fish.
(_Old-wife; sea-lobster; mussel; tunny; blower; rock-fish, &c._)
E. Intense pain in the stomach after swallowing the fish, vomiting,
purging, and sometimes cramps.
T. Give an emetic; excite vomiting by tickling the throat, and
plenty of warm water. Follow emetics by active purgatives,
particularly of castor oil and laudanum, or opium and calomel, and
abate inflammation by the usual remedies.
1365. Bites of Reptiles.
(_Viper; black viper; Indian serpents; rattle-snake._)
E. Violent and quick inflammation of the part, extending towards the
body, soon becoming livid; nausea, vomiting, convulsions, difficult
breathing, mortification, cold sweats, and death.
T. Suppose that the wrist has been bitten: immediately tie a tape
between the wound and the heart, scarify the parts with a penknife,
razor, or lancet, and apply a cupping-glass over the bite,
frequently removing it and bathing the wound with volatile alkali,
or heat a poker and burn the wound well, or drop some of Sir Wm.
Burnett's Disinfecting Fluid into the wound, or cauterize the bite
freely with lunar caustic, but not till the part has been well
sucked with the mouth, or frequently washed and cupped. The strength
is to be supported by brandy, ammonia, ether, and opium. Give plenty
of warm drinks, and cover up in bed.
1366. Mad Animals, Bite of.
E. Hydrophobia, or a fear of fluids.
T. Tie a string tightly over the part, cut out the bite, and
cauterize the wound with a red-hot poker, lunar caustic, or Sir Wm.
Burnett's Disinfecting Fluid. Then apply a piece of
"spongio-piline," give a purgative, and plenty of warm drink.
Whenever chloroform can be procured, sprinkle a few drops upon a
handkerchief, and apply to the nose and mouth of the patient before
cauterizing the wound. When the breathing appears difficult, cease
the application of the chloroform. A physician, writing in the
_Times_, strongly urged this course, and stated, many years ago,
that there is no danger, with ordinary care, in the application of
the chloroform, while the cauterization may be more effectively
performed.
1367. Insect Stings.
(_Wasp, bee, gnat, hornet, gadfly, scorpion._)
E. Swelling, nausea, and fever.
T. Press the barrel of a watch-key over the part, so as to expose
the sting, which must be removed. Give fifteen drops of hartshorn
or sal-volatile in half a wine-glassful of camomile tea, and cover
the part stung with a piece of lint soaked in extract of lead.
1368. Cautions for the Prevention of Accidents.
The following regulations should be engraved on the memory of all:
i. As many sudden deaths come by water, particular caution is
therefore necessary in its vicinity.
ii. Do not stand near a tree, or any leaden spout, iron gate, or
palisade, in times of lightning.
iii. Lay loaded guns in safe places, and never imitate firing a gun
in jest.
iv. Never sleep near charcoal; if drowsy at any work where charcoal
fires are used, take the fresh air.
v. Carefully rope trees before they are cut down, that when they
fall they may do no injury.
vi. When benumbed with cold beware of sleeping out of doors; rub
yourself, if you have it in your power, with snow, and do not
hastily approach the fire.
vii. Beware of damp.
viii. Air vaults, by letting them remain open some time before you
enter, or scattering powdered lime in them. Where a lighted candle
will not burn, animal life cannot exist; it will be an excellent
caution, therefore, before entering damp and confined places, to try
this simple experiment.
ix. Never leave saddle or draught horses, while in use, by
themselves; nor go immediately behind a led horse, as he is apt to
kick. When crossing a roadway always go behind a cart or carriage,
never in front of it.
x. Do not ride on footways.
xi. Look closely after children, whether they are up or in bed; and
particularly when they are near the fire, an element with which they
are very apt to amuse themselves.
xii. Leave nothing poisonous open or accessible; and never omit to
write the word "POISON" in large letters upon it, wherever it may be
placed.
xiii. In walking the streets keep out of the line of the cellars,
and never look one way and walk another.
xiv. Never throw pieces of orange peel, or broken glass bottles,
into the streets.
xv. Never meddle with gunpowder by candle-light.
xvi. In trimming a lamp with naphtha, never fill it. Leave space for
the spirit to expand with warmth.
xvii. Never quit a room leaving the poker in the fire.
xviii. When the brass rod of the stair-carpet becomes loose, fasten
it immediately.
xix. In opening effervescing drinks, such as soda water, hold the
cork in your hand.
xx. Quit your house with care on a frosty morning.
xxi. Have your horses' shoes roughed directly there are indications
of frost.
xxii. Keep lucifer matches in their cases, and never let them be
strewed about.
xxiii. Kick into the gutter any piece of orange peel that you may
see on the pavement or the roadway. By so doing you may save many
from meeting with dangerous accidents.
xxvi. Never allow your servants to leave brooms, brushes,
slop-pails, water cans, &c. in outside doorways, or at the head of a
flight of stairs when engaged in house-work.
[IF YOU ARE IN DEBT, SOMEBODY OWNS PART OF YOU.]
1369. Accidents in Carriages.
It is safer, as a general rule, to keep your place than to jump out.
Getting out of a gig over the back, provided you can hold on a little
while, and run, is safer than springing from the side. But it is best
to keep your place, and hold fast. In accidents people act not so much
from reason as from excitement: but good rules, firmly impressed upon
the mind, generally rise uppermost, even in the midst of fear.
1370. Life Belts.
An excellent and cheap life belt, for persons proceeding to sea,
bathing in dangerous places, or learning to swim, may be thus
made:--Take a yard and three quarters of strong jean, double, and
divide it into nine compartments. Let there be a space of two inches
after each third compartment. Fill the compartments with very fine
cuttings of cork, which may be made by cutting up old corks, or (still
better) purchased at the corkcutter's. Work eyelet holes at the bottom
of each compartment, to let the water drain out. Attach a neck-band
and waist-strings of stout boot-web, and sew them on strongly.
1371. Another.
Cut open an old boa, or victorine, and line it with fine cork-cuttings
instead of wool. For ladies going to sea these are excellent, as they
may be worn in stormy weather, without giving appearance of alarm in
danger. They may be fastened to the body by ribands or tapes, of the
colour of the fur. Gentlemen's waistcoats may be lined the same way.
1372. Charcoal Fumes.
The usual remedies for persons overcome with the fumes of charcoal in
a close apartment are, to throw cold water on the head, and to bleed
immediately; also apply mustard or hartshorn to the soles of the feet.
[ECONOMY IS THE EASY CHAIR OF OLD AGE.]
1373. Cautions in Visiting the Sick.
Do not visit the sick when you are fatigued, or when in a state of
perspiration, or with the stomach empty--for in such conditions you
are liable to take the infection. When the disease is very contagious,
place yourself at the side of the patient which is nearest to the
window. Do not enter the room the first thing in the morning, before
it has been aired; and when you come away, take some food, change your
clothing immediately, and expose the latter to the air for some days.
Tobacco smoke is a preventive of malaria.
1374. Children and Cutlery.
Serious accidents having occurred to babies through their catching
hold of the blades of sharp instruments, the following hint will be
useful. If a child lay hold of a knife or razor, do not try to pull it
away, or to force open the hand; but, holding the child's hand that is
empty, offer to its other hand anything nice or pretty, and it will
immediately open the hand, and let the dangerous instrument fall.
1375. Directing Letters.
It may sound like being over particular, but we recommend persons to
make a practice of fully addressing notes, &c., on all occasions;
when, in case of their being dropped by careless messengers (which is
not a rare occurrence), it is evident for whom they are intended,
without undergoing the inspection of any other person bearing a
similar name.
1376. Prevention of Fires.
The following simple suggestions are worthy of observation: