FIRST AIDS TO THE SICK AND INJURED. 157 



18. General Hints. Note the surroundings and glance 

 around for probable cause. Place the person on his back, 

 with a pillow or folded coat under his head. Straighten him 

 out, and examine carefully. Undo his clothes at the neck, 

 chest and waist. Feel the pulse at the wrist, and listen to 

 his breathing. Examine his pockets for a bottle of spirits or 

 poison. Smell his breath, to detect liquor. Notice the face, 

 whether pale, as in fainting, or flushed, as in intoxication. 

 Do not attempt to make an insensible person swallow any- 

 thing. If the person is affected with violent spasms or 

 convulsions, do not hold him too firmly, but restrain him ' 

 sufficiently to prevent self -injury, and place something hard 

 between his teeth, to prevent the tongue from being bitten. 



19. Fits. Ordinary fainting jits are produced by being 

 in a too close, warm room, by mental shock, by loss of blood, 

 or by a weak heart. Lay the patient down, with the head 

 very low, and bathe the face and head with cold water. Give 

 plenty of fresh air, and, if at hand, use smelling salts. 



Apoplexy is caused by the breaking of an artery in the 

 head, with bleeding into the brain. Although placed in the 

 lying position, the head and shoulders should be kept well up, 

 to keep the blood away from the brain as much as possible. 

 Use cold' water and ice to the head, and heat to the arms and 

 legs. Hot stove-lids, hot bricks, hot-water bottles, or mus- 

 tard plasters can all be used to draw the blood into the legs 

 and arms. 



Epilepsy is a convulsive fit, which some people are subject 

 to at intervals. When the spasms are on, treat as already 

 directed, and when consciousness returns give some nourish- 

 ment, such as beef tea, and advise rest and sleep. 



20.. Concussion of the Brain. A shaking up of the 

 brain by a fall or blow on the head is called concussion. If 

 the blow is severe enough to break in both tables of the skull 

 and cause pressure on the brain, it is called compression, and 



