Wounds

Papers on Health
by John Kirk

(Page 20 of 21)

The mind cannot act rightly in an unsound body, and there is no doubt that good health wards off worry. Deep breathing of fresh air by producing well oxygenated pure blood, will do much to restore mental balance, especially if this want of mental balance is, as is often the case, partly due to inattention to the laws of health.

Worry is by no means a necessary concomitant of high civilization, it is rather an accompanying mental disease due partly to low nerve power, which itself is due to erroneous methods of life - errors of diet, want of pure air, cleanliness, exercise, etc. Partly, too, is this low nerve power due to mental causes peculiarly Western. The Asiatic with his power of concentration, reflection, contemplation, with his patience, endurance, calmness, knows nothing of this scourge of European and American life. Even the Japanese, progressive and efficient as they are, possess this native contented, sweet, calm disposition, a habit of mind which, if they can retain, will be of enormous value to them in coming years.

Wounds, Bleeding of - After sending for a surgeon the first thing to be looked at in case of any wound is the bleeding. Sometimes this is trifling and needs no particular effort to staunch it. When, however, a vein or artery has been lacerated the flow must immediately be attended to.

If the blood be welling up from the wound and of a dark red color it is venous blood, if it spurt up from the wound and be of a bright red color it is arterial blood. What has to be done is to place a pressure on the vein or artery to prevent the blood escaping.

Venous bleeding may generally be stopped by putting a pad of lint dipped in cold water on the wound and tying it on with a bandage. If the blood continues to flow, tie a bandage round the limb on the side of the wound away from the heart and keep the limb raised.

Arterial bleeding must be treated by tying on the pad and bandage, and if the bleeding continues, stopping the flow in the artery on the side of the wound nearest the heart, and at some point where it passes over a bone so that pressure may be efficiently applied. The bandage for thus tying an artery may be simply made by knotting a handkerchief (Diagram IV.), putting something solid inside the knot, then placing the knot on the artery at the desired point and tying tightly. If required this may be tightened by putting a stick under and twisting round, then tying the stick in position.

If the palm of the hand is cut, put a pad inside the hand, close the fingers, and tie the bandage round the clenched fist.

If the wound is in the forearm, put a pad in the bend of the elbow, and tie the forearm firmly up on the arm. If the wound is above the elbow stop the main artery in the way above indicated. This artery runs pretty well under the inner seam of the sleeve of a man's coat. Diagram I. shows how this artery may be stopped by direct pressure of the hand; Diagram II. how a tourniquet may be applied.

For bleeding in the arm-pit, press in a pad and tie the arm down to the side. It may be necessary here to compress the artery with the thumb. The artery here lies behind the inner bend of the collar bone lying on the first rib.

In case of arterial bleeding about the head apply the bandage as in Diagram III. The pressure is here applied right over the wound, as the skull is always behind on which to press the artery.

A wound in the leg should be treated in a similar way to a wound in the arm. Diagram V. shows the stopping of bleeding above the knee.

Do not remove the pressure until the arrival of a medical man.

Wounds, Ill-Smelling - For all such wounds, the best method is frequent cleansing with vinegar or dilute acetic acid by means of a small glass syringe, such as may be got at any druggist's (see Abscess; Wounds, Syringing). We know one case where the patient was expelled from a curative home because of the evil smell of his wounds, three careful cleanings out with dilute acid so removed all odor that the patient was at once readmitted. Where the wound is very tender, soak soft cloths or lint in the dilute acid, and lay them on the wound three or four ply thick. Remove and renew them every quarter-of-an-hour till the smell is gone. Of course the cloths should be immediately washed or, better, burned. In using the syringe, care should be taken to suck out the ill matter, as well as to send the dilute acid well down into the sore. Careful cleaning of the syringe with boiling water before use is necessary.

Wounds, Soothing - During the process of healing, wounds often give a great deal of pain, even when all is going well. It is this pain we here show how to relieve. After an operation under chloroform, itself painless, the process of healing is often very painful. We are sure this pain need not be endured, but to prevent or cure it we need to see what is its cause. Two causes are specially notable - pressure and cold. By skilful handling and bandaging, undue pressure may be avoided by the surgeon. But a great deal can be done by any one to keep cold from the seat of injury. Have a bag of soft flannel, as fine as possible, made so as to surround the wounded part. This bag is filled with dry bran, heated in an oven or otherwise, without being wet. Of course the heat must not be great enough to cause any discomfort, but sufficient to give a fine sense of relief. This application is for a wound which has not become inflamed, but is doing well.

When inflammation has set in, and the patient is fevered, the opposite treatment is applied. Over the dressing apply three or four folds of dry cotton cloth, and over this again apply cold towels (see Towels, Cold Wet) until the pain is relieved. Good sense must regulate this treatment, of course, and excess of cold be avoided. But with ordinary care this need never cause anxiety.

Printed by Hurst Bros., Shaw Heath, Stockport. 1904.