Robert Robert - Scouting for Boys

Wet clothing should be taken off, and hot blankets rolled round him. The patient should be disturbed as little as possible, and encouraged to sleep, while carefully watched for at least an hour afterwards.

Now just practise this with another Scout a few times, so that you understand exactly how to do it, and so BE PREPAREDto do it one day to some poor fellow in need of it.

Other First Aid

Acid Burning

A case occurred of a woman throwing vitriol over a man s face. This is an awful acid, which burns and eats away the flesh wherever it touches. Fortunately a policeman happened to be on the spot at the time, and knew what to do. He at once applied lots of water to which some soda had been added to wash off the acid, then cared for the wound as a regular burn.

Appendicitis

This catches some people rather suddenly, though generally it is preceded by feeling out of sorts. It gives a sharp pain in the abdomen two inches to the right and below the navel. Send for doctor.

Bandages

For binding a broken limb you want a good large three-cornered bandage, such as your Scout neckerchief. Its two sides should each be about forty inches long.

To make a sling for broken arm or collar-bone, hang the bandage round the patient’s neck, tying the two ends together in a reef-knot (square knot) with the point of the bandage towards the damaged arm. Rest the arm in this sling and bring the point round the back of the arm and pin it to hold the elbow in the sling.

A Scout neckerchief can be used for maki ng a sling and a bandage. Make the bandage neat by tucki ng in the end as show n by the arrow.

The head bandage is used for keeping a dressing on a scalp wound. Open out your triangular bandage, and fold the base up about two inches. Place the middle of this on the patient’s forehead, just at the eyebrows, so that the point hangs down over his neck. Now take the two ends and cross them firmly at the base of the patient’s skull, and bring them up round and tie in a reef-knot on the forehead. Turn the point up and pin on the top of the head. Be careful that the folds are neat at the side of the head, and that the two ends are tucked away.

Bleeding from the Nose

This does not usually do much harm or prove dangerous. But the bleeding sometimes refuses to stop, which means the patient is losing a lot of blood. To stop it, sit the patient on a chair and tell him to lean his head well back and breathe entirely through his mouth. Applying cold to the back of his neck may prove beneficial.

Blood Poisoning

This results from dirt being allowed to get into a wound. Swelling, pain, red veins appear. Fomenting with hot water is the best relief. Get patient to a doctor.

Broken Bones

You can generally tell that an arm or a leg is broken by a swelling and pain about the place where the break is. Sometimes the limb is bent in an unnatural way and the patient cannot use it. Get a doctor. Treat for shock.

The broken limb should not be moved about at all. If it is absolutely necessary to transport the patient, bind the broken limb to something stiff, a splint that will keep it stiff and straight while the patient is being moved to hospital.

A splint may be a wooden batten, Scout staff, tightly-rolled newspaper, etc. It should be long enough to go beyond the joints above and below the break. You should put a splint on each side of the limb if possible. Then bind the splints firmly from end to end with handkerchiefs, neckerchiefs, or strips of linen or cloth, but not so tightly as to stop the blood circulating or to press into the swelling.

The collar bone may sometimes be broken in a fall. No splint is needed. Bend the forearm on the injured side up diagonally across the chest and place it in a sling. Tie a narrow bandage around the body, over the sling.

Burns and Scalds

When anyone gets accidentally burnt or scalded with hot water, and the skin gets red, the thing to do is, at once, to put some sort of grease over it, such as vaseline, and then bandage gently. A paste made from baking soda and water gives relief for a light burn. SUNBURN is treated as any other burn.

If part of the dressing sticks to the burn, do not tear it away, but cut the cloth around it with a sharp knife or scissors, then as quickly as possible protect burnt parts from the air.

In a case of severe burns (blisters or even charring), send for a doctor and treat the patient for shock. Never break blisters.

Choking

To dislodge the obstruction, lean the patient forward and thump the back hard between the shoulder blades. A child may be turned upside down and thumped on the back. If this is unsuccessful, open the mouth, forcibly if need be, pass two fingers along the tongue right to the back of the throat and try to pull up the foreign body. If vomiting results, immediately turn the head on one side.

Choking sometimes comes from a sudden swelling inside the throat. In this case put hot steaming flannel fomentations to the neck and give the patient ice to suck, or cold water to sip.

Concussion or Stunning

This is a common result of a fall or bang on the head. Keep the patient quite still and warm. Get a doctor as quickly as possible. The worst thing you can do is to give spirits or stimulants and to move the patient.

Electric Shock

Men frequently get knocked insensible by touching an electric cable or rail. The patient should be moved from the rail, but you have to be careful in doing this that you don’t get the electric shock also. If possible switch off electric current. Otherwise insulate yourself by standing on glass, or dry wood if glass is not obtainable, or put on rubber boots. Also put on rubber gloves before touching the patient. If you have none, wrap your hands in several thicknesses of dry cloth, and pull the patient away with a dry stick. Artificial respiration may be necessary; when breathing is restored, treat for regular shock.

A boy was hunting butterflies at St. Ouen, in France, when he fell on the “live” rail of the electric railway and was instantly killed. A passer-by, in trying to lift him off, fell dead beside him. A brickmaker ran up and tried to rescue them and was himself struck dead in the same way. The two would-be rescuers were killed through not having learned beforehand what was the right thing to do.

Fainting

If your patient faints and is pale—fainting comes from too little blood in the head—make him sit down and push his head down between his knees. Bathe the face with cold water. If his face is flushed, raise the head—there is too much blood in it, as in apoplexy or sunstroke.

Fish-Hook in the Skin

I got a fish-hook into my finger once. I got a knife and cut off all the fly which was on the hook, then pushed the hook farther into my finger till the point began to push against the skin from inside. With a sharp knife I cut a little slit in the skin so that the point came easily through, and I was then able to get hold of it and to pull the whole hook through. Of course you cannot get a hook out backwards, as the barb holds tight in the flesh all the time.

Clean the wound.

Fits

A man cries out and falls, and twitches and jerks his limbs about, froths at the mouth; he is in a fit. It is no good to do anything to him but to put a bit of wood or cork between his jaws, so that he does not bite his tongue. Let him sleep well after a fit.