Scouting For Girls, Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts Part 32

(a) SUNSTROKE; (b) FREEZING

(a) _Sunstroke_--Sunstroke is caused by too long exposure to excessive heat, or to the direct rays of the sun, and is much more serious than heat exhaustion, which you have already studied.

_Prevention_--Do not stay out in the direct sunlight too long on a hot summer day. Wear a large hat which shades the head and face well, if obliged to be in the hot sun for any length of time. Do not wear too heavy clothing in the hot weather. Leaves or a wet sponge in the top of the hat will help to prevent sunstroke. Drink plenty of cool water between meals.

_Symptoms of Sunstroke_--1. The patient is unconscious.

2. The face is red.

3. The pupils large.

4. The skin very hot and dry, with _no_ perspiration.

5. The pulse is full and slow.

6. The breathing is sighing.

_Treatment_--1. Get the patient into the shade where it is as cool as possible.

2. Send for the doctor.

3. Remove the greater part of the clothing.

4. Apply cold water or ice to the head, face, chest and armpits.

Often the patient recovers consciousness before the doctor arrives; give cold water to drink; never stimulants.

(b) _Freezing_--This is a much more serious condition than frostbite, which you have studied, but only because more of the body is frozen and the tissues are frozen deeper. Much more care must therefore be taken to prevent bad effects after the thawing-out process.

_Symptoms of Freezing_--1. The patient may or may not be unconscious.

2. The frozen parts are an intense white and are without any feeling or motion.

_Treatment_--Send for the doctor at once.

1. Take the patient into a cold room.

2. Remove the clothing.

3. Rub the body with rough cloths wet in cold water.

4. Very gradually increase the warmth of the water used for rubbing.

5. Increase the temperature of the room gradually.

6. When the patient can swallow, give him stimulants.

7. When the skin becomes more normal in color and the tissues are soft, showing that the blood is once more circulating properly through the frozen flesh, cover the patient warmly with hot bottles or bricks outside of the bed clothing, or wraps, and give hot drinks. In using hot water be sure it is not too hot.

Dog Bite[3]

In the case of the dog bite we have a more or less extensive break in the skin and sometimes a deep wound in the flesh, through which the poison of hydrophobia, which is a living virus or animal poison, may be introduced, to be taken up slowly by the nerves themselves, reaching the central nervous system in about forty days. The slowness and method of this absorption renders the use of a ligature useless and unsafe. The treatment for dog bite is therefore as follows:

_Immediate._ Send for a physician, telling him the reason. While waiting, treat as any similar wound from any cause. If the skin is not penetrated, but scratched only, apply iodine and a sterile or wet dressing. If the skin is penetrated, the treatment should be the same as for a wound made by a dirty nail: that is, a small stick, such as a match, whittled to a point, with a little cotton twisted on the point, should be dipped into tincture of iodine, and twisted down into the full depth of the wound, and then done a second time.

_Subsequent._ A physician should be consulted immediately, and if there is any suspicion of the dog being sick it should be kept under observation. The body of a dog that has been killed under suspicion of rabies or hydrophobia, should be sent as soon as possible to the proper authorities.

One of the greatest discoveries in medical science is the Pasteur treatment for the prevention of hydrophobia after mad dog bite, and fortunately, provision for this treatment is so widespread that practically every one in civilized regions needing it, can have it, as is well known to all physicians. The fact that the period of development of the disease is so long makes the possibility of prevention greater.

It is never proper to suck a dog bite, because the merest scratch or break in the surface, even if too small to notice, will serve as a portal of entry for the living virus of rabies.

_Snake Bite._ For treatment of snake bite see page 297.

WATER ACCIDENTS

When it is possible, Girl Scouts should learn to swim well. It is fear when suddenly thrown into the water that causes so many of the deaths by drowning, and learning to swim well takes away this fear. A Girl Scout should also learn how to prevent accidents, and how best to help the victims of accidents in the water.

PREVENTION

Below are five rules for preventing drowning accidents.

1. Do not change seats in a canoe or rowboat.

2. Do not rock the boat.

3. Do not go out alone in a canoe, rowboat or sailboat unless you are thoroughly competent to manage such a boat, in a sudden squall or storm.

4. Very cold water exhausts a swimmer much quicker than warm water, therefore do not take any chances on a long swim in cold water unless a boat accompanies you to pick you up in case of necessity.

5. Be careful not to go too far out when there is a strong undertow; that is, a strong current below the surface of the water flowing relentlessly out to sea.

6. Always wade upstream.

RESCUE [Ill.u.s.tration]

When a person gives up the struggle in the water, the body goes down, and then because of its buoyancy it comes to the surface and some air is expelled from the lungs, making the body less buoyant. It immediately sinks again, this time a little lower, and again comes to the surface, and more air is expelled. This process may be repeated several times, until sufficient water is taken into the stomach and lungs to overcome the buoyancy of the body and it no longer appears at the surface; but the buoyancy is barely overcome, and therefore the body will float easily. This can easily be utilized in saving the drowning person by making the water carry most of the weight of the body.

To do this, place the hands on either side of the drowning person's head, and tow him floating on his back with the face above the surface of the water, while you swim on your back and keep the body away from you. Remember, if possible, to go with the current and thus save necessary strength. In some cases it may be easier and safer to grasp the drowning person by the hair instead of trying to clasp the head.

EMERGENCIES

_Grips_--A drowning person is always a frightened person, and is governed by a mad instinct to grab anything which subconsciously he thinks may save his life. Usually he is past any reasoning. He grabs his would-be rescuer with a death grip that is hard to break, but remember he instinctively grabs what is above the surface and will not try to grab below the shoulders.