water, and then castor oil.
ANTIMONY. (Tartar emetic, Butter of Antimony, Oxide of Antimony.)
Poisoning by these, when taken accidentally in large quantities, cause
severe vomiting and great prostration.
TREATMENT. If sufficient quantity has not been taken to produce
vomiting, induce and facilitate it by copious draughts of warm water and
by tickling the throat. Give strong tea, or a decoction of cinchona
bark.
ALKALIES. (_Ammonia_, or _Hartshorn_, _Potassa Caustic_, _Soda Caustic_,
_Lye of Wood Ashes_, _Quicklime_.)
TREATMENT. Two or three table-spoonfuls, of vinegar, or lime juice, in
as much again of water sufficient to neutralize the alkali. Then give
olive oil or milk. Do not give emetics.
BAD FISH. (Mussels, Lobsters, Crabs, etc.)
TREATMENT. Empty the stomach as quickly as possible with a little
mustard and warm water, salt and water, tickling the top of the throat.
Then administer a good dose of castor oil with some warm spice; if
necessary, put a mustard plaster on the stomach.
BUG POISON. (Corrosive Sublimate.)
This is the ordinary bed bug poison, which is often taken by accident.
TREATMENT. Mix up as quickly as possible the whites of six eggs in a
pint of cold water, giving a glassful every three or four minutes, and
in the interval plenty of milk, till the stomach can contain no more.
Wheat flour mixed with water is a good remedy.
(See below Mercury and its compounds.)
COPPER COMPOUNDS. (Blue Vitriol, Verdigris.)
MERCURY COMPOUNDS. (Corrosive Sublimate, White Precipitate, Red
Precipitate, Vermilion).
ZINC COMPOUNDS. (White Vitriol.)
TREATMENT. Give abundance of white of eggs, then warm water with a
tea-spoonful of mustard to induce vomiting. After vomiting administer
white of egg and milk, or wheat flour and milk as a batter.
IODINE. (Tincture or Solution.)
TREATMENT. Give freely fresh paste of starch or wheat flour mixed with
water, then a little mustard and warm water to excite vomiting. White of
eggs and milk and mucilaginous drinks are excellent substitutes.
LEAD COMPOUNDS (Sugar of Lead, White Lead, Red Lead, Litharge.)
TREATMENT. Induce vomiting in the usual way with a little mustard and
warm water and by tickling the throat. Give an ounce of Epsom salts
dissolved in water. If sulphate of zinc be at hand, give from 10 to 30
grains instead of the mustard as an emetic.
LUNAR CAUSTIC. (Nitrate of Silver.)
This has often been accidentally swallowed when used for touching a sore
throat.
TREATMENT. Give a large tea-spoonful of salt in a glass of water,
repeated every ten minutes; then administer a dose of castor oil, and
linseed tea or barley water for a drink.
LAUDANUM. (Opium, Morphine, Soothing Syrups.)
TREATMENT. Empty the stomach as quickly as possible by vomiting. Give
finely powdered fresh charcoal (by quickly pounding coal from a wood
fire). After the stomach has been well cleared, give very strong coffee
or tea; put a mustard plaster around the calf of each leg, and if the
patient be cold and sinking, give a good quantity of spirits and water.
Keep the patient till the effect has passed off by beating the soles of
the feet, dashing cold water on the face and keeping him as much as
possible on the move. The inclination to sleep must under no
circumstances be indulged in.
CHLOROFORM. (Chloral, Ether.)
TREATMENT. Excite vomiting in the ordinary way, mustard and warm water,
etc. Dash cold water over the head, face and body. Induce artificial
respiration as in drowning (see page 63). Place a piece of ice in the
rectum. Suspend the patient for a few moments by his legs.
STRYCHNINE. (Nux Vomica, Rat Poison, etc.)
There is lockjaw and considerable twitchings and convulsions; the body
being bent backwards.
TREATMENT. Empty the stomach by an emetic, and then give linseed tea or
barley water, adding for an adult 30 drops of laudanum, occasionally to
relieve the spasms. Two ounces of camphor dissolved in a quart of
whiskey, and given freely, is said to be an excellent antidote.
POISONOUS PLANTS AND SEEDS.
Children and others often suffer from accidentally eating poisonous
fungi, mistaking them for mushrooms, etc. The stomach should at once be
cleared by an emetic, warm water with mustard, or salt, or soft soap. If
there be no purging, then administer a dose of castor oil. If the
patient be in a faint and sinking condition, give stimulants.
IVY-POISONING.
Apply soft soap freely to the affected parts, or bathe them with a weak
tincture of belladonna.
PHOSPHOROUS. (Lucifer matches.)
Children often play with and suck these matches composed of this
poisonous substance; the effect is similar to the symptoms caused by
arsenic.
TREATMENT. Give large doses of warm water with mustard or magnesia,
chalk, or even flour mixed with it. Induce vomiting, but give nothing of
an oleaginous character.
GENERAL REMARKS.
It must be always remembered that cases of poisoning require prompt
treatment.
In many cases of accident and diseases time is not of that essential
consequence that it is in the cases of these. The life or death of the
sufferer may depend upon the way you employ the few moments in which you
have to act.
---------------------
Sea Sickness.
This sickness is classified under the head of diseases of the general
system. I placed it here for the benefit of those who are going to make
an ocean voyage for the first time, as I know that most people never or
seldom think to prepare themselves for it. Sea sickness has a number of
varieties and is the great terror of persons who for the first time
cross the ocean. At first there is no vomiting, but a feeling of
constant dizziness, confusion of ideas and perhaps a dull headache take
its place. Even in such cases there is more or less loss of appetite,
and in nearly all there is obstinate constipation. Without doubt the
close atmosphere of the vessel plays an important part in the production
of the vomiting, since even those who are not much affected may lose
control of their stomachs if they venture into the neighborhood of the
cook’s galley. Intense as the suffering may be, it is rarely that the
malady ends fatally.
For some reason consumptive persons appear less subject to sea sickness
than most others, and it said that dark complexioned persons suffer more
from it than others.
Persons about to proceed to sea should put their stomach and bowels in
order by the use of mild aperients a few days before starting. If it can
not be entirely prevented, it may be mitigated by lying flat upon the
back. To lie on deck in the open air is much better than lying in the
close air of the cabin or state-room. As the vessel descends, draw in
the breath, and as it ascends, exhale the breath. (This prevents the
movements of the organs which act immediately upon sea sickness.)
Hold fast by the ropes on the side of the ship so as to move with all
its motions. Take a dose of some purgative that will empty the bowels. A
wine-glassful of brandy or from 10 to 30 drops of laudanum will relieve
the sickness very much. For a child it is sometimes sufficient to wet a
cloth with laudanum and lay upon the pit of the stomach. Morphine is
sometimes even better than laudanum. Creosote, one drop at a dose made
into a pill, is excellent. Ten drops of hartshorn in half a tumbler of
water is good for some.
But the best known remedy is chloroform taken in doses of from 40 to 60
drops in water by means of a little gum arabic.
The headache and dizziness can sometimes be relieved by bromide of
sodium or potassium, in doses of 20 to 30 grains for an adult, taken in
water and repeated at intervals of four to six hours.
---------------------
Snake Bites.
The danger arising from snake bites is owing to the introduction of a
poison which so swiftly permeates the whole system, that immediate
action is the more imperative as the question of life or death is solved
in a few brief moments. Among the chief venomous reptiles may be
enumerated the following: the whip-cord, cobra de capello, rattlesnake,
viper, and adder. The bites of the two first-named are more fatal and
rapid than those of the others.
The teeth of these reptiles lie in the front of the upper jaw and are of
a hook-shaped form. The venom is contained in a small sac or duct
situated at the base of the fang, which is channelled throughout to
allow of the exit of the poison. When the tooth penetrates the tissues,
the poisonous sac becomes contracted and the venom is ejected into the
wound and immediately caught up by the circulation.
The wounded part quickly swells to an enormous extent, assuming various
hues, while the victim experiences a feeling of faintness and depression
and quickly passes to a state of delirium and unconsciousness. The bite
occasions a sharp and intense pain which extends up the limb, in the
direction of the principal nerves. The treatment in this instance should
be similar to that of a wound produced by a rabid dog, that is, the part
should be well washed, sucked and cauterized. Let some person—the
patient, if able to reach the wound—take up the flesh on either side of
the bite between the teeth and suck the place, spitting the saliva out
at once. (It must be borne in mind that the patient or other person
performing the operation should be free from cuts, etc., on the lips or
tongue.) Then, if the position of the wound permit, tie a handkerchief
or a piece of string firmly round the limb, above, and as near as
possible to the wound, and between it and the heart, to prevent the
return of the blood to that organ. In the meanwhile a poker or a nail
should be made red hot and well pressed over the whole wound, when, if
the burning be properly done, the tissues will become white. Stick
caustic, moistened in water, will answer the same purpose as a poker. In
every instance the patient should be given as much brandy or whiskey as
he can drink, together with a liberal application of coal oil to the
wound, which should be bandaged with flannel or some material that will
absorb and freely retain the oil.
If the above treatment be carried out, all will have been done that a
practical physician could do in an emergency of this character.
---------------------
Sprains or Strains.
This term is usually given to injuries occurring about the joints due to
a forcible straining or wrenching of the surrounding ligaments, so as
more or less to lacerate them, or even sometimes to break a tendon, but
without entirely displacing a bone. The injured tissues being of low
vitality, a considerable time elapses before they again regain their
usual form and functions. In severe cases, it is advisable to obtain
proper advice, as the consequences are more lasting than in the case of
a broken bone, especially where the injury is to the knee, ankle-joint
or wrist, the parts most liable to sprains. To be assured that no bones
are broken or displaced, as soon as possible, before the swelling takes
place, see if the joint looks natural by comparing it with the other
one, and noting if any bone is loose or out of place, and if so, consult
a surgeon.
CAUSES. Sprains result from over-bending of joints, or from their being
bent in a direction not intended by nature, as when making a false step,
or falling on the hand, the wrist or foot is twisted much, either
forward or backward, causing the ligaments and tendons to be unduly
stretched or lacerated. The degree of danger in a sprain depends upon
how far the use or disuse of the joint can be suspended with much or
little discomfort.
The SYMPTOMS are violent pains at the time of the accident with
considerable swelling and discoloration of the injured parts from the
blood rushing into the cells under the skin. The joints can at first be
readily moved, but as the swelling and inflammation increase, all motion
becomes painful and the patient altogether loses for a time the use of
the injured limb.
TREATMENT. Raise the injured limb to such a position as will relax the
muscles connected with the affected part, and let the sprain have
_absolute_ rest, which is most essential and the best way of treating
it.
To such sprains as relate to the knee, ankle, elbow, wrist, or finger
joints, the necessary rest may be secured by the aid of splints, and
these to be thoroughly sufficient, should be such as to adapt themselves
to the largest extent of surface. The patient should be kept in a
recumbent position, and cold applications, which are the best at first,
should be constantly applied to the affected parts by dipping linen rags
in the following lotion, which should be kept in a cool place. Goulard
water, 4 ounces; gin, 4 ounces; camphor mixture, 1 ounce, and mindererus
spirit, 1 ounce. Tincture of arnica, or a poultice of arnica flowers are
also valuable applications. This course should be persevered in for one
or two days, after which, if the pain or swelling do not abate, apply
leeches freely to the injured parts and encourage the bleeding by using
a sponge with warm water constantly to the bites. Hot fomentations
should afterwards be applied with flannel wrung out of a decoction of
chamomile flowers and poppy heads and see that the bowels are kept
properly regulated. When the pain lasts for more than two days, it is
best to call in a physician, but always when the pain is very severe and
the swelling marked. As soon as the parts have recovered their normal
healthy condition, care must be taken not to encourage irritation and
inflammation in the limb by using it too soon.
---------------------
Stings of Insects.
Stings of bees, spiders, wasps, or any insect may become painful and
dangerous in case of numerous bites. If the stings of insects have
remained in the flesh, they must be extracted the same as a splinter
with a pair of forceps or pincers. Then wash the wounds clean and rub
the parts with olive oil to prevent smarting. Then apply to the wounds
with a rag or sponge salt and vinegar, or a strong solution of ammonia,
and afterward cover with cloths moistened with the same substance to
remove any swelling that remains.
---------------------
Suffocation.
Under this convenient and general designation may be included all those
cases, where from special accidental causes the breathing is either
impeded or temporarily suspended. The general appearance of the
sufferer, the fixed and staring eye, the pallid features, and general
look of terror, are characteristic of, and sufficiently evidence to his
sufferings.
Only such cases of common incidents and which require immediate
attention, are here noticed.
CHOKING. This accident is chiefly due to carelessness. Pieces of meat,
bone, especially fish-bones, get into the gullet, or are stopped on
their passage to the stomach, producing, according to the size of the
substance either suffocation (choking) or a troublesome tickling cough.
TREATMENT. Slap the back smartly with the open hand (but not too
heavily) between the shoulders. The sudden compression of air on the
chest will generally enable the sufferer to cough out the obstacle; or
make him swallow a few crumbs of bread, and then take a draught of
water, which will distend the gullet above the obstruction and cause
both it and the water to pass with a jerk into the stomach. An emetic of
mustard and warm water is often effective when other means have failed.
DROWNING. Suffocation from this cause is fully treated of under that
head (see page 62).
NOXIOUS VAPORS. Persons are often overcome by these, either through
ignorance of their existence, or imprudence in not taking proper
precautions to ascertain it.
FOUL AIR is commonly to be met with in cellars, wells, tanks, and in
similar places, and also in mines, where even science has not been able
to remove its dangers.
The presence of this noxious gas (carbonic acid) can be readily
discovered by the simple expedient of using an open candle or lamp: if
the poisonous air be present, the flame which like human beings,
requires oxygen for its support, will flicker and die out; in such case
no living creature could enter the place without incurring great danger.
CHARCOAL and ILLUMINATING GAS. Charcoal fumes are often purposely
inhaled with suicidal intentions, or the ordinary gas is unsuspectedly
breathed, especially during sleep, owing to some slight escape, not
immediately noticeable, or from carelessness or ignorance in
extinguishing it. In either case a person soon loses consciousness and
becomes suffocated.
The symptoms of suffocation by gases are analogous to those caused by
drowning, and the treatment is alike in both. Place the person in the
open air, throw cold water over the head, face and upper part of the
body frequently, applying warmth by means of hot plates to the hands,
feet and stomach, and friction to the spine, and inflate the lungs if
necessary, as directed in the article on DROWNING.
SMOKE from a large fire may often be temporarily be endured and
suffocation prevented for a time by throwing a wetted towel or
handkerchief over the head, or by holding a moist cloth in the mouth.
---------------------
Sunstroke.
As implied by the name, this arises chiefly from undue and prolonged
exposure to the heat of the sun, but not necessarily from that alone, as
similar effects are produced by exposure to any excessive heat when a
person is greatly fatigued and the vital forces are in a state of
exhaustion. Sunstroke is not confined to tropical regions, but is of
frequent occurrence in northern cities and wherever individuals are
exposed to the cause which occasion it.
Those unaccustomed to a high temperature, persons of full habit addicted
to free living, and hard workers are more susceptible to sunstroke than
those reared in tropical climates; continuous confinement in heated
rooms, such as laundries and bake-houses, may produce sunstroke, or
rather symptoms identically the same. These symptoms are premonitory, or
immediate. In the former, headache, with a burning sensation about the
head, together with restlessness and want of sleep at night, are the
principal characteristics, the skin becoming hot and dry, the face
flushed and the eyes congested. Work continued under the hot sun or in a
heated room by a person when laboring under such symptoms, will suddenly
cause the sufferer to be seized with vertigo, intense pains in the head,
and dimness of sight. The limbs fail to support him, and he falls to the
ground in a state of insensibility.
The temperature of the body, as ascertained by a thermometer, varies
from 100 degrees to 107 degrees, and in some instances rises as high as
109 degrees. The _immediate_ symptoms are due to exhaustion or syncope,
and the stricken person is more likely to die suddenly without any
special premonitory symptoms being manifest. In this case the pulse is
generally rapid and irregular and the breathing gasping. The pupils may
become dilated, but the skin is not extremely hot.
TREATMENT. The patient should at once be removed into the shade or into
a cool room, near an open window, and placed in a recumbent position
with the head slightly raised. The clothes are then stripped off, and a
stream of water as cold as possible poured over him. This should be done
from a height of four to five feet to give the sufferer the benefit of
the shock. Cold towels dipped in iced water must be _constantly and
continuously_ applied to the head and body, which should be also well
rubbed with ice. This treatment must be _at once_ resorted to, as it
tends to check the bodily temperature from rising, and any neglect to
secure this all important end will speedily cause the death of the
patient. A doctor should be sent for while the sufferer is undergoing
the preliminary treatment above described, which must not be abated
until his arrival.
---------------------
Things in the Eye.
Sand, broken eye-lashes, cinders, etc., often lodge under the eye-lids,
usually the lower lid. When a person complains of some substance in the
eye, the inside of the lower eye-lid and lower portion of the ball
should first be examined. Pull the lid down and at the same time direct
the person to look up and from one side to the other. If nothing be
discerned there, the patient is then to be directed to look downward.
This will expose to view the upper part of the globe. If the object is
under the lower lid, pull the lid down and remove by wiping the little
nuisance into the corner of the eye with a camel’s hair brush, or a soft
rag, or the end of the finger covered with a silk handkerchief. If the
object is under the upper lid, lay a pencil or crochet needle or some
round smooth thing, as a bodkin, which will turn the lid wrong side out,
and remove in the same way.
Sometimes a small chipping of iron gets fixed on the ball of the eye,
and engineers are often very expert in removing them with the point of a
pen-knife. But if you can get a good magnet, it will draw away the chip
of iron without any risk of injuring the eye.
Broken eye-lashes which have become fixed in the eye, should be
extracted with forceps. Persons employed or standing about buildings
where quicklime is used, may accidentally get some into the eye. It is
instantly removed by bathing the eye well with vinegar and water. One
part of vinegar to three parts of water. The vinegar will neutralize the
lime and will rob it of its burning properties. The lime will soon burn
away the sight, if the proper means are not promptly used.
---------------------
Tooth-ache, Pains in the Face and Jaw, Ear-ache.
TOOTH-ACHE is due to the exposure of the nerve in the internal cavity of
the tooth, either from fracture or decay of a part of the tooth. The
nerve is extremely sensitive, and by coming into contact with air and
acrimonious substances, inflammation is excited and tooth-ache is the
consequence. Pain in a wholesome tooth may be caused by sympathy with an
unsound one, a disordered stomach, or whatever excites painful
sympathetic action in the nerves of the face. Relief may be obtained by
dropping a little oil of cloves or creosote on a bit of cotton wool and
inserting it in the cavity, but when the tooth is too far gone for
stopping, extraction is the only remedy.
PAINS IN THE FACE AND JAW, when not caused by rotten teeth, may be
allayed by holding a little brandy, or other spirit, or tincture of
cayenne, or hot water in the mouth, and _externally_ applying laudanum.
The following is an excellent poultice in these cases. Take two large
table-spoonfuls of flour, 2 tea-spoonfuls of black pepper, and mix with
a little brandy or other spirit; put the poultice on a handkerchief and
tie it round the face over the part affected. The poultice which should
be of medium consistency, can be kept on for a considerable period
without injury to the skin, and will afford great relief.
EAR-ACHE may be caused by an abscess in the passages, or it may be
entirely due to neuralgia. It is common with children when teething, and
adults at the time that the wisdom teeth appear. Exposure to cold or
draughts will often produce it. There are several means of relieving the
pain, which is not generally accompanied with any great constitutional
derangement. A little laudanum dropped into the ear and plugged with
cotton wool or lint, small bags of hot salt, or the heart of a roasted
onion on the affected member, are all soothing remedies. Should these
prove not effectual, apply a fomentation of hot chamomiles and poppy
seeds, and a warm poultice afterwards. When an abscess is the cause, and
there is much swelling and pain, hot fomentations and poultices should
be applied and the passage syringed with warm water after the abscess
has discharged with a solution of eight grains of sulphate of zinc to an
ounce of plain or rose-water. The bowels should be kept well attended
to.
---------------------
Wounds.
The loss of blood consequent upon a wound is, in most cases, the
principal and immediate danger, and the first step in the treatment
should be directed to checking the hemorrhage. It is the position rather
than the extent which constitutes the chief danger in wounds, of which
there are several kinds requiring treatment suitable to each. The
following are the several classes into which wounds are divided, viz.: