Scouting For Girls, Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts Part 29

If you are still unable to dislodge the body, discontinue any further efforts, apply a cloth wet in cold boric acid solution and send for the doctor. Anything done to the eyes must be done with the greatest gentleness.

If an acid has entered the eye, neutralize it with a weak solution of soda bicarbonate in water. If an alkali (lime) is the offending substance, neutralize by a weak vinegar solution. Follow in each case with a wash of boric acid solution.

(b) _Ear_ (Insect); (c) _b.u.t.ton in Nose_--Foreign bodies in the ear and nose are not very common.

But sometimes a child slips a b.u.t.ton or other small object into these cavities, or an insect may crawl in. Drop in a few drops of sweet oil and if the object comes out easily, well and good. If not, do not keep on trying to extract it, for fear of greater injury. Send for the doctor.

6. IVY AND OAK POISONING

There is a poison ivy (or poison oak) which is very poisonous to some people, and more or less so to all people. The poison ivy has a leaf similar to the harmless woodbine, but the leaves are grouped in threes instead of fives. The poison given off by these plants produces a severe inflammation of the skin. In the early stages it may be spread from one part of the body to another by scratching.

_Treatment_--Wash the irritated surface gently with soap and water, and then apply a paste of soda bicarbonate or cover quickly with carbolated vaseline. Another remedy is fluid extract _grindelia robusta_, one dram to four ounces of water. Sugar of lead and alcohol have also been found useful. For severe cases consult a doctor, especially if the face or neck or hands are affected.

7. (a) FAINTING; (b) HEAT EXHAUSTION

(a) _Fainting_ is caused by lack of blood in the brain, and usually occurs in overheated, crowded places, from fright or from overfatigue.

_Symptoms_--1. The patient is very pale and partially or completely unconscious.

2. The pulse is weak and rapid.

3. The pupils of the eyes are normal.

_Treatment_--1. If possible put the patient flat on his back, with the head slightly lower than the rest of the body.

2. If there is not room to do this, bend the patient over with his head between the knees until sufficient blood has returned to the brain to restore consciousness.

3. Then get the patient into the fresh air as soon as possible.

4. Keep the crowd back.

5. Loosen the clothing about the neck.

6. Apply smelling salts to the nose.

7. When the patient has recovered sufficiently to swallow, give him a gla.s.s of cold water, with one-half teaspoonful of aromatic spirits of ammonia if necessary.

(b) _Heat Exhaustion_ is exhaustion or collapse due to overheating where there is not sufficient evaporation from the surface of the body to keep the temperature normal.

_Symptoms_--1. The patient is usually very weak.

2. The face is pale and covered with a clammy sweat.

3. The pulse is weak and rapid.

4. The patient is usually not unconscious.

_Treatment_--1. Remove the patient to a cool place and have him lie down.

2. Loosen the clothing.

3. Give him a cold drink to sip.

4. Put cold cloths on his head.

5. Send for the doctor.

6. If necessary, give stimulant as in fainting.

8. (a) CHOKING: (b) HICCOUGH

(a) _Choking_--Choking is produced by something lodged in the throat, does not require artificial respiration, but a smart slap on the back to aid in dislodging whatever is blocking the air pa.s.sage. It may be necessary to have the patient upside down, head lower than feet, to aid in getting out the foreign body. This is a comparatively simple matter with a child, but is not so easy with an adult. When the object is not too far down the throat it may be necessary for someone to use his fingers to pull out the offending substance to keep the patient alive until the doctor can arrive. In this case wedge the teeth apart with something to prevent biting before trying to grasp the object.

(b) _Hiccough_--This is usually due to indigestion or overloading of the stomach. Holding the breath for one-half minute will usually cure it, as it holds quiet the diaphragm (the large muscular and fibrous part.i.tion between the chest and abdomen), and overcomes its involuntary contractions which are causing the hiccoughs. A scare has the same effect sometimes. If the hiccoughs still continue troublesome after these simple remedies try to cause vomiting by drinking lukewarm water, which will get rid of the offending material causing the hiccough, and relieve the distress.

9. NOSE BLEED

The ordinary nose bleed will soon stop from the normal clotting of the blood and does not require treatment.

(a) Keep head elevated, with patient sitting up if possible. Do not blow the nose, as this will dislodge any clot which may have formed, and the bleeding will begin again. Any tight collar around the neck should be loosened.

(b) If the bleeding seems excessive, apply cloths wrung out of ice water to the back of the neck and over the nose.

(c) If the bleeding still continues and is abundant, pack the nostril with a cotton or gauze plug. Pack tightly (with a blunt end of a pencil if nothing else is at hand) _and send for the doctor at once_.

=Major Injuries and Emergencies=

1. (a) DISLOCATIONS; (b) FRACTURES

(a) _Dislocations_--In a dislocation the head of a bone is pushed or pulled out of its socket. A person may be falling and in trying to save himself catch hold of something in such a way that he feels a sharp, sudden, severe pain, and may even feel the head of the bone slip out at the shoulder or elbow.

_Symptoms_--1. When you looked at the injured part it does not look like the other side.

2. If you attempt to move it you find it will no longer move as a joint does, but is stiff.

3. There is great pain and rapid swelling usually.

4. There may or may not be black and blue spots around the joint.

_Treatment_--Send for a doctor at once. While waiting for the doctor, place the patient in the easiest position possible, and apply hot or cold cloths, frequently changed, to the injured part.

In dislocation of the jaw it may be necessary for someone to try to replace it before the doctor arrives. The mouth is open and the jaw fixed. The patient may even tell you he has felt the jaw slip out of its socket. Wrap your thumbs in cloth to prevent biting when the jaw snaps back in place. Place the thumbs on the tops of the lower teeth on each side, with the fingers outside, and push firmly down until the head of the bone can slip over the edge of the socket into place. As you feel the bone slipping into place, slide your thumbs out to the inner side of the cheek to prevent biting when the jaws snap together with the reducing of the dislocation.