A FEW INSTRUCTIONS IN FIRST AID TO THE INJURED. 



First aid instructions are intended only for use in case the doctor 

 cannot be immediately secured to attend the patient, as often happens 

 in the woods. Their object principally is to make the injured one as 

 comfortable as possible without delay. Act quickly, but quietly. Make 

 the patient sit down or lie down. See an injury clearly before treating 

 it. Do not remove more clothing than is necessary to examine. Always 

 rip or cut clothing around an injury; do not pull clothing off. Practice 

 absolute cleanliness. Do not touch a raw wound with the ringers or 

 anything else that is not absolutely clean. Give alcoholic stimulants 

 sparingly. Generally hot drinks will suffice. 



Broken Bones. 



In cases of fracture little can be done except to prepare the patient 

 for the journey to his headquarters or home, or to the hospital. If it 

 happens to be a broken limb the main object to strive for is to prevent 

 the injured member from being moved or rolled about during the jour- 

 ney. Movement of the fractured ends of the bone results in damage to 

 the adjoining nerves and muscles, creating more inflammation. Strips 

 of wood may be placed on each side of the broken limb and bound in 

 place lightly but firmly with bandages ; but never bind directly over the 

 fracture. This binding will keep the bone in its natural position and 

 prevent movement at the break. In case of a broken arm, the forearm 

 should be hung in a wide sling from the neck and then bound lightly 

 to the body. If it is a broken leg, after the patient has been laid on 

 stretcher or cot for transportation, in addition to having the limb bound 

 with strips of wood, as already mentioned, it is well to secure the leg 

 so that it cannot rock or roll about during the journey. This can be 

 done by laying rolls of clothing on each side of the limb, or by rolling 

 up a blanket from each end, and then laying the leg between the rolls 

 as in a trough. 



Wounds. 



In the treatment of wounds it is well to have a care for even the 

 little cuts, punctures and scratches that are of common occurrence and 

 considered of no consequence. It is the natural tendency of healthy 

 flesh to heal a slight wound promptly. Nevertheless, while the most 

 frightful wounds have occasionally been known to heal perfectly 

 almost without attention, just the slightest cut or a mere pin prick has 

 some times resulted in great suffering and death. Small wounds should 

 be kept clean and treated with mild antiseptic solutions, and their 

 surfaces protected by clean wrappings. Wounds of a serious nature 

 require the services of the doctor or surgeon ; but if there is delay in 

 securing such services there are certain first aid rules that may be 

 applied. Keep everything out of a serious wound until the doctor 

 comes. Remove or cut away the clothing around it, and try to stop 

 serious loss of blood by drawing the edges of the wound together with 

 the fingers or by firm bandaging. Drawing the lips of the wound 



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