SCOUTING FOR GIRLS 
179 
Symptoms — As in dislocations, you should be famil- 
iar with the main symptoms of a broken bone. 
1. When you look at the injured part it may or may 
not look like its mate on the other side. In the more 
severe fractures it usually does not. 
2. When you try to move it you find more motion 
than there should be if the bone has broken clear 
through; that is, there will seem to be a joint where no 
joint should be. 
3. The least movement causes great pain. 
4 . The swelling is usually rapid. 
5. The discoloration (black and blue) appears later; 
not at once, unless there is also a superficial bruise. 
6. The patient is unable to move the injured part. 
7 . You may hear the grate of the ends of the bone 
when the part is moved, but you should not move the 
injured bone enough to hear this, especially if the limb 
is nearly straight; the detection of this sound should 
be left for the doctor. 
Treatment — Send for a doctor at once, and if it will 
be possible for him to arrive soon, make the patient as 
comfortable as possible and wait for him. However, 
if it will be some time before the doctor can arrive you 
should try to give such aid as will do no harm and will 
help the sufferer. 
You must handle the part injured and the patient 
with the utmost gentleness to avoid making a simple 
fracture into a compound one, or doing other injury, 
and also to give him as little additional suffering as 
possible. You will need to get the clothing off the part 
to be sure of what you are doing. Rip the clothing in 
a seam if possible when the fracture is in an arm or 
leg, but if this cannot be done, you will have to cut the 
material. Do not try to move the broken bone trying 
to get off a sleeve or other part of the clothing. 
