[Ill.u.s.tration: Drill in First Aid]
CHAPTER XV--FIRST AID TO THE INJURED
First aid should teach every boy how to render temporary a.s.sistance by improvised means for the relief of the injured one, and the methods by which he can be removed to a place of safety. With this in view, the information given in this chapter incorporates what every camper should know. Before going to camp, boys should be taught the use of the Triangular Bandage. This bandage is used by the United States Government, and is well suited for an emergency bandage. It can be easily made from a handkerchief or a piece of linen. The American Red Cross First Aid Outfit contains a triangular bandage, with methods of application printed thereon. The gauze or roller bandage is more difficult to handle. This, however, is the bandage to control bleeding, etc. Any reliable book on First Aid gives information as to its manipulation.
Dislocation
A dislocation of the finger or toe can generally be reduced by pulling strongly and at the same time pressing where the dislocation is. If the hip, shoulder, or elbow is dislocated, do not meddle with the joint, but make the boy as comfortable as possible by surrounding the joint with flannel cloths wrung out in hot water; support with soft pads, and send for a doctor at once. If the spine is dislocated, lay the boy on his back.
Never put him on his side or face, it may be fatal. If he is cold, apply hot blankets to his body, hot water bottle or hot salt bag to the seat of pain.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Triangular Bandage; Method of Folding Triangular Bandage for Use; Bandage should always be secured by means of a reef knot.]
Broken Bones
Do not try to reduce the fracture if a physician can be secured, for unskilled handling will do more harm than good. The thing to do is to make the boy comfortable by placing him in a comfortable position with the injured part resting on a pad, keeping him perfectly quiet. If there is an open wound, cover it with cheesecloth or gauze which has been dipped in boiling water, to which baking soda has been added. Then wrap absorbent cotton around it. If the boy has a fever, put wet cloths on his head, swinging them in the air to cool for changing.
THE FOLLOWING PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS ARE GIVEN IN "CAMP KITS AND CAMP LIFE," BY CHARLES STEDMAN HANKS.
Nose
If the nose is broken, plug with gauze to stop bleeding.
Jaw
If the jaw is broken, push the bone gently into place, and if there is an open wound, cover it with gauze or cotton, made antiseptically, and then put a bandage around the jaw.
Collar Bone
If the collar bone is broken, it will be known by the pain in the shoulder and the shoulder dropping. Holding the elbow up will relieve the weight from the collar bone. Lay the boy on his back. Put a cotton wad in his armpit and bandage the arm to the side of the body and put the arm in a sling.
Shoulder Blade
If the shoulder blade is broken, put the forearm across the chest with the fingers on the shoulder and then bandage the arm to the body.
Rib
If a rib is broken it will pain the patient when he takes a long breath.
Put him on his back, resting a little on the uninjured side, so that he will breathe easily. If it is necessary to move him, bandage strips of adhesive plaster around the body, beginning at the lowest rib and working upward, having each strip lap over the one below it. If you have no adhesive plaster, use a wide strip of cotton cloth. After you have put his coat on, pin it as tightly as you can in the back.
Leg Above Knee
If the leg is broken above the knee, lay shoulders slightly back, with the head and shoulders slightly raised. Draw the leg out straight, and, after padding it with cotton or towels, cut a small sapling long enough to reach from the foot to the armpit, and fasten it at the ankle, knee, and waist.
If it is necessary to move the boy, bind both legs firmly together.
Leg Below Knee
If the leg is broken below the knee, lay the boy on his back and put a pillow or a bag stuffed with gra.s.s lengthwise under it. Then put a board or a hewed sapling on the under side of the pillow to stiffen it, and bandage the pillow and the board or sapling firmly to the leg. If the boy has to be moved, bind both legs together.
Knee Pan
If the knee pan is broken, put the boy on his back and straighten out the leg on a padded splint which reaches from the heel to the hip, putting some cotton or a folded towel under the knee and the heel. Then bandage the splint on at the ankle, at the upper part of the leg, and above and below the knee pan.
Foot
If the foot is broken, make a splint of two pieces of wood held together at right angles, and, after padding the foot with cotton, bind the splint to the side of the foot and the leg.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Large arm sling as a support for the forearm.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Large arm sling as a support for the elbow.]
Upper Arm
If the upper arm is broken, make three splints, one long enough to reach from the shoulder to the elbow to go on the outside of the arm, one to go on the inner side of the arm, and one on the back of the arm. Pad the arm from the armpit to the elbow with cotton, towels, or newspapers wrapped in cloth, and, after bandaging on the splints, put the forearm in a sling and bind the arm to the body.
Forearm
If the forearm is broken, make a cotton pad long enough to reach from the fingers well up to the forearm, and rest the palm of the hand on it. Put a similar pad on the back of the hand, and, after bandaging in a splint, put the arm in a sling.
Hand
If the hand is broken, put a cotton pad on the palm and over it a thin splint long enough to reach from the tips of the fingers to the forearm.
After binding the splint in place, put the arm in a sling with the hand higher than the elbow.
Finger
If a finger is broken, make a splint of cardboard or a thin piece of wood long enough to reach from the tip of the finger to the wrist. Cover the finger with gauze or cotton, and, after binding on the splint, support the hand in a sling.
Fainting
Fainting comes from too little blood in the head. Lay the boy on his back with feet higher than his head. Loosen tight clothing and let him have plenty of fresh air. Sprinkle his face with cold water and rub his arms with it. For an attack of dizziness, bend the head down firmly between the knees. If his face is flushed, raise the head.
Stunned
Lay the boy on his back with head somewhat raised. Apply heat, such as bottles of hot water, hot plates or stones wrapped in towels to the extremities and over the stomach, but keep the head cool with wet cloths.
Do not give any stimulant; it would drive blood to the brain.
Stretcher
A stretcher may be improvised in one of the following ways: (a) A shutter, door, or gate covered well with straw, hay, clothing, or burlap bagging.
(b) A piece of carpet, blanket, sacking, tarlatan, spread out, and two stout poles rolled up in the sides. Put clothes for a pillow.
(c) A coat with the two sleeves turned inside out; pa.s.s two poles through the sleeves, b.u.t.ton the coat over them. (See ill.u.s.tration.) Patient sits on coat and rests against the back of the first bearer.
(d) Two poles pa.s.sed through a couple of bags, through holes at bottom corners of each.