738 APPENDIX III 



TREATMENT OF CUTS, ETC. 



By Dr. R. H. Micks and Mr. Louis Werner 



Small clean cuts need no treatment to help them to heal. 

 Bleeding can be stopped quickly by holding a wisp of clean 

 cotton-wool to the cut for about five minutes ; when the bleeding 

 has stopped the cotton-wool may be allowed to remain stuck to 

 the cut, and can be secured by a loose bandage. If the cut is so 

 large that the edges gape widely it will usually have to be stitched 

 by a surgeon. 



Avoid the application of finger-stalls and collodion dressings, 

 for they delay healing by preventing evaporation of water from 

 the skin. If it is necessary to protect a cut from irritants a 

 finger-stall may be slipped on for a short time, but it should be 

 removed as soon as the need for it has passed. 



Fainting occurs very readily in some people with even trivial 

 injuries. The proper treatment for a faint is to place the patient 

 flat on the floor ; no other treatment is necessary. 



Infected material is rarely handled by the microtomist, but 

 should any injury to the skin occur when working with fresh 

 animal tissues medical advice should be sought without delay. 



Irritant gases may cause serious damage to the lungs, and it 

 should be remembered that the first signs of damage may not 

 occur till several hours after exposure. If irritant gases have 

 escaped into a laboratory it must be evacuated at once and not 

 entered again until it has been declared safe. 



Carbon monoxide poisoning does not damage the lungs, but to 

 continue working in a laboratory in which an escape of gas has 

 occurred is very dangerous. An early sign of poisoning may be 

 impaired power of reasoning, and a man who has been working 

 for some time in an atmosphere vitiated by carbon monoxide is 

 often incapable of appreciating the risk he is running and may 

 have to be removed against his will. 



Injury to the eye may occur either from fluids or from solid 

 particles. 



The first essential in cases of splashes of liquids is immediate 

 irrigation. Time should not be wasted hunting around for a 

 suitable neutralising solution of alkaline or acid reaction, but the 

 affected eye should be held open (fingers on the eyelids will be 

 needed) in a basin of water, and if possible moved around while 

 under water. If an assistant is present he can carry out the 

 irrigation with water. 



Having washed away as much irritant as possible, oil should be 

 instilled, castor oil, cod-liver oil, or even olive oil, but not cedar- 

 wood oil. These measures suffice for the time that elapses before 

 skilled medical attention can be obtained. No time should be 



