Common Emergencies
Brain
Hemorrhage
Lay
the patient on his back with the head and shoulders slightly raised. Apply cold
cloths or ice bag to the head. Insist on absolute quiet. Use great care in
moving the patient. Do not use stimulants.
Drunkenness
Patient
will usually sleep off the condition m a few hours. If the patient can be
aroused, make him vomit and then give coffee. Apply artificial respiration if
patient stops breathing.
Fainting
If
a person feels faint make him lie down with his body level. Keep him lying
down, and lower his head. If he is in a chair tilt the chair back ward. If it
is impossible to lower his head, elevate his legs. Loosen tight clothing.
Smelling salts inhaled may be helpful, but do not use ammonia. Sprinkle the
face with cold water. After consciousness returns, give stimulant by mouth.
Heart
Failure
Keep
the patient absolutely quiet, lying down. Never give stimulants or drugs,
unless prescribed by the doctor. Keep the patient warm and quiet. Reassurance
will prevent fear.
Convulsions
Prevent
the patient from injuring himself. Place a pencil wrapped in cloth or a folded
cloth or other suitable material between the teeth to prevent the tongue from
being bitten. Put a pillow, coat, or any other soft material under the head. Do
not try to hold the patient rigid to prevent convulsive movements.
Convulsions
in Children
Loosen
constricting clothing. If the convulsions do not stop promptly, apply hot
packs, wrapping the child in a blanket or in large heavy towels wrung out of
warm water, not hot water. Following the pack, put the child to bed between
warm blankets.
Earaches
Any
earache that persists for even a short time demands the attention of a doctor.
Apply a hot water bottle to the painful ear. Cold may give relief in cases not
relieved by heat. Early puncture of the eardrum when there is internal pressure
is important in preventing secondary infection in the mastoid.
Hiccups
Try
holding the breath as long as possible, or drink a glass of cold water slowly.
Breathe in and out of a paper bag that fits tightly over the face.
Foreign
Bodies in Ear or Nose
Never
push any pin or piece of wire or instrument into the ear or nose. Try syringing
the ear with warm water. Leave removal of foreign bodies in the ear or nose to
the doctor.
Insect
Bites
Remove
the sting if it is still present. Apply a paste made of baking soda and cold
cream or a compress moistened with ammonia water. Cold applications help
relieve pain. Calamine lotion with one-per-cent menthol relieves itching of
mosquito and chigger bites.
Drowning
Remove
the victim from the water and place him in a prone position with his head lower
than the rest of his body. Make a quick inspection of his mouth and remove any
sand, muck, or weeds. Pull the lower jaw forward. This brings the tongue
forward and helps to keep it from plugging the upper air passages. Start
prone-pressure artificial respiration. The preliminary steps should not take
more than ten seconds.
Don't
attempt to remove water from the lungs. There is usually a little in them, but
that is readily expelled by the action of artificial respiration. Rolling a
person to get the water out is a waste of precious time. Remember, the
conservation of body heat is important. A person rescued from the water under
normal conditions loses body heat rapidly. Even on a hot day water evaporation
from wet clothing has the effect of cooling the body at a dangerous rate.
Hanging
Cut
the rope holding the person suspended. Loosen it immediately from around the
neck. Start artificial respiration at once.
Poisons
Give
immediately four to seven glassfuls of soap suds, salt water, soda water,
lukewarm water or milk. After the patient has had several glassfuls, tickle the
back of the throat to induce vomiting. This washes out the stomach. For acid
poison, neutralize with alkalis like magnesium, chalk, baking soda, or lime
water. Keep the patient warm. For alkaline poison, neutralize with weak acids
such as lemon juice or vinegar, and keep the patient warm. Call a physician.
Burns
Shock
and infection are the chief dangers from burns. For small bums apply sterile
petrolatum ointment or burn ointment over the burned area. Cover with fine-mesh
gauze. Remove all loose clothing from the burned area, but not if it sticks to
the burned area, cut around it, and leave the clothing that has stuck to the
wound for the doctor to remove. Dip strips of clean, freshly-laundered sheeting
into a solution made of warm water, one quart containing three tablespoonfuls
of baking soda, and apply to burned area. Do not use absorbent cotton directly
on a bum.
Serious
Sunburns
Calamine
lotion is soothing and does not stain clothing. Wet dressings of baking soda or
Epsom salts prevent pain. For severe blisters apply a dressing of sterile,
petrolatum-coated gauze.
Sunstroke
Get
the victim into the shade and into as cool a place as possible. Remove the
clothing. Lay the patient on his back, with the head and shoulders somewhat
elevated. Start treatment immediately. Apply cold to the head-wet cloths, ice
bag, ice.
Cool
the body by one of these methods:
1.
Wrap the patient's body in a sheet and pour on cold water. This method is
probably best. Don't cool the body too much at a time. Continue treatment for
several minutes, then stop and observe the patient. If the skin becomes hot
again, the treatment must be renewed. Rubbing the limbs toward the heart aids
the circulation, and it is important. Rub through the wet sheet. Give no
stimulants. Call a doctor at once. Give cool drinks after consciousness
returns.
2.
Give a cool bath, up to twenty minutes long, with brisk rubbing of the limbs
and trunk to stimulate circulation. One of the most effective ways of cooling
the body is an ice-water tub bath.
3.
Apply cold, wet cloths or ice bags, with rubbing. If the patient is taken to a
hospital in an ambulance, treatment should be continued during transportation.
Halitosis,
or Bad Breath
Bad
breath, now politely referred to as "halitosis" is offensive. There
is little excuse for permitting oneself to become obnoxious for this reason to
everyone around him, since it is possible to prevent the presence of such
odors. The most frequent cause is related to the teeth, which may be subject to
cavities or which may simply be surrounded with accumulations of decaying
food-particles.
Cavities
should be filled and tartar deposits should be removed at least once every six
months. The teeth may be kept clean by the use of dental floss and by the
regular use, after eating, of a toothbrush with proper powder or paste. There
are innumerable mouth washes containing antiseptics, alkalis, or acids, that
may be used after the teeth have been brushed. Weak hydrogen peroxide solutions
are sometimes of value. Use strong solutions only on the advice of a competent
physician or dentist.
After
the teeth have been eliminated as the cause of bad breath, the tonsils must be
examined for infection. Another frequent cause of bad breath is infection in
the nose or in the space behind the nose. The formation of crusts and of
accumulations of infected material is bound to produce foul odor of the breath.
If the tongue is constantly coated, if there is eruction (the expulsion of
stomach gases through the mouth) of sour material from the stomach, consult a
physician.
Seasickness
Recent
discoveries in the control of seasickness mean that almost anyone may now take
a voyage on an ocean or a lake and, even when the boat rocks, still not be too
sick to enjoy the voyage. Many a person used to get sick even before the ship
left the dock. Avoid heavy meals, going-away dinners, and indigestible food. If
you start out free from difficulty with your digestion and with a stomach that
is reasonably empty, you are less likely to be sick.
When
confronted with sickness lie down; do not try to make everybody believe that
you are feeling wonderful, because, actually, you will look green and everybody
will wonder why you are up anyway. Good air is important, and that means plenty
of air. However, do not get chilled. Put on a warm coat, cover yourself with a
rug, lie back, inhale good air, and be comfortable. Now and then a short, brisk
walk will be helpful.
Do
not, however, spend your time watching the waves, because this tends to produce
eructation or vomiting. The stewards know that a little weak tea or a warm
drink and a dry biscuit helps to settle a queasy stomach. Usually, on board the
larger vessels tea is served each morning around eleven, each afternoon around
three, in addition to the usual meals.
About
The Author - David Crawford is the CEO and owner of a Male Enhancement Products
company known as Male Enhancement Group which is dedicated to researching and
comparing male enhancement products in order to determine which male
enhancement product is safer and more effective than other products on the
market. Copyright 2010 David Crawford.
