1871. 



yrEW ENGLAND FAEIVIER. 



625 



I"or the New Enqland Farmer, 

 A CHAPTER ON W^OUNDS. 



Farmers, and»tbe several domestic animals 

 with which they have to do, are liable to sutFer 

 from wounds of various kinds, and it is highly 

 important that every person should understand 

 the best methods of treating them. 



Wounds are called incised, lacerated, con- 

 tused, pimctiwed, poisoned, or gunshot, imcovd- 

 ing to the manner in which they have been 

 produced, and the nature of the cause which 

 has produced them. These several varieties 

 require dilferent treatment, to a certain ex- 

 tent, but whether occurring in man or beast it 

 should be the same. 



Incised Wounds are those caused by a 

 simple division of the fibres with a sharp cut- 

 ting instrument. In- such cases, the lips of 

 the divided parts are more or less separated, 

 according to the extent of the injury, and the 

 surface is covered with blood. 



In the treatment of incised wounds, there 

 are four indicjtions to be f iillilled : 1. To ar- 

 rest the hemorrhage or How of blood ; 2. To 

 remove foreign bodies if there be any within 

 the wound ; o. To bring the divided parts into 

 apposition, and keep them in union ; 4. To 

 promote adhesion. 



To arrest the hemorrhage, moderate pres- 

 sure, an elevated position of the wounded 

 part and the application of cold water will be 

 sufficient in most cases. But if the bleeding 

 prove obstinate, other measures must be 

 adopted. And now this important question 

 arises : does the blood come from an artery 

 or a. vein'? When arteines are punctured or 

 divided, the escaping blood will be of a bright 

 florid color, and will How rapidly in jets ; but 

 when veins are divided it will be of a much 

 darker color, and will flow less rapidly, grad- 

 ually filling the wound. 



If then, an artery has been injured, no time 

 should be lost, but the bleeding vessel must b« 

 compressed without delay ; and the best method 

 of doing this will depend on the part of the 

 body or limb in which the wound is situated. 

 If the injury is below the middle of the upper 

 arm, or the middle of the thigh, the compres- 

 sion can best be made by means of a ligature, 

 which may consist of a handkerchief or a cord 

 of almost any kind ; this should be passed 

 once or twice about the Limb and tied securely. 

 A stick may then be passed beneath the liga- 

 ture and twisted until the flow of blood is ar- 

 rested. It should be remembered that when 

 an artery is wounded, the ligature must always 

 be placed above the loound ; that is, between 

 the wound and the heart, because the arteries 

 carry the blood from the heart to the extremi- 

 ties ; and if the wound be below the elbow or 

 the knee, the ligature should be applied above 

 those jfjiiits, because that below them are ttvo 

 bones which protect the arteries against com- 

 pression, whereas above them there is but one 

 hone, and therefore the blood vessels are more 

 easily compressed. But if the wound is situ- 

 3 



ated high up on the arm a ligature will do no 

 good, and therefore a bystander should at 

 once press his thumb firmly into the neck be- 

 hind the middle of the collar bone. This will 

 arrest the flow of blood through the great ar- 

 tery of the arm as it first comes out of the 

 chest. But as it will not be possible to con- 

 tinue the pressure for a long time with a sufli- 

 cient degree of force, simply with the thumb, 

 the handle of a door-key or some such article, 

 should be wrapped in three or four folds of 

 linen and used in place of the thumb. In this 

 way the hemorrhage can lie kept in check until 

 a surgeon can be obtained. If the wound be 

 high up on the thign, compression should be 

 made by means of the thumb or a key imme- 

 diately below the crease of the groin, where 

 the beating of the artery may be felt as it 

 passes over the bone. If the wound be situ- 

 ated on the skull, upon the face, or over any 

 bone of the body, the bleeding maj' generally 

 be arrested, for a time at least, a id sometimes 

 permanently, by pressing the thumb, a finger, 

 a cork or any other firm substance that can be 

 conveniently applied, directly upon or near 

 the wound. But if the blood comes from a 

 vein, the compression, if any be needed, 

 should always be made below the ivonnd ; that 

 is, between it and the end of the limb, be- 

 cause the veins convey the blood from the ex- 

 tremities back to the heart. However, in 

 most instances in which small veins are 

 wounded, a little pressure and the free use of 

 cold water will stop the hemorrhage. Vari- 

 ous articles called styptics are sometimes used 

 to check excessive bleeding. The tincture of 

 muriate of iron, a solution of alum or of cop- 

 peras, and creosote are among the best styp- 

 tics. 



The removal of foreign bodies should be 

 done as soon as possible. Dirt, gravel, ifcc, 

 are best got rid of by alFusion with water ; 

 but most other substances can be removed 

 best with the fingers. All clots of blood 

 should likewise be removed, or they will act 

 as foreign bodies and prevent adhesion. In 

 order to bring the divided parts into apposi- 

 tion and keep them in union, strips of adhe- 

 sive plaster are best, when the wound Is not 

 very deep nor the sides of it much disposed 

 to separate ; but when there Is considerable 

 depth to the wound and it is disposed to gape, 

 stitches — sutures, in surgical language — should 

 be employed ; and for such a purpose, far- 

 mers and others who keep domestic animals 

 should also keep on hand one or two curved 

 surgical needles. 



To promote adhesion nothing is needed but 

 to keep down infiammation, and that is best 

 done by rest and the moderate application of 

 cold water. The poj)ular idea that a wound 

 will not heal without the assistance of some 

 wash, liniment, ointment, or salve Is pure 

 nonsense. Wounds are healed by virtue of a 

 law of nature, and such applications, while 

 they can do- no good, may do much barm. 



