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.
Grit in the Eye
Do not let your patient rub the eye; it will only cause inflammation and swelling, and so make the difficulty of removing the grit all the greater.
If the grit is in the lower eyelid, drawn down the lid as far as you can, and gently brush it out with the corner of a moistened handkerchief.
If it is under the upper lid, pull the lid away from the eyeball, down over the lower lid. In this way the eyelashes of the lower lid will generally clean the inside of the upper one.
Another way, which every Scout must practise, is to seat your patient and stand behind him yourself with the back of his head against your chest. Lay a match on the upper part of the upper eyelid, and then catch hold of the edge of the eyelid and draw it upwards over the match so that it turns inside out. Gently remove the grit with the corner of a wet handkerchief, and roll the eyelid down again.
If the eye is inflamed, bathe it with lukewarm water.
If the grit is firmly imbedded in the eye, drop a little oil (olive or castor oil) into the lower lid. Close the eye, cover it with a soft wet pad and bandage, and get a doctor to see it.
Hysterics
Nervous people, especially women, sometimes get hysterics when excited, crying, laughing, and screaming. The best treatment is to shut the patient into a room and leave him entirely alone till he gets over it. Don’t try to soothe him, it only makes him worse.
Poisoning
If a person suddenly falls very ill after taking food, or is known to have taken poison, the first thing to do is to send for a doctor. Then, if the mouth is not stained or burnt by the poison, make him sick by giving him salt and warm water or mustard and warm water, and try tickling the inside of his throat with a feather. If the poison is an acid that burns, the patient should not be made to vomit, but given magnesia or baking soda in water to destroy the acid. The patient should be kept awake if he gets drowsy.
Smoke, Fumes or Gas
Accidents are continually occurring from escapes of gas in mines, sewers, and houses.
In endeavoring to rescue a person, keep your nose and mouth well covered with a wet handkerchief, get your head as close to the floor as possible, and drag the insensible person out as I have suggested in case of a fire. Drag your patient as quickly as possible into the fresh air—(I say as quickly as possible, because if you delay about it you are very apt to be overcome by the noxious gas yourself)—then loosen all his clothing about the neck and chest and dash cold water in his face. If you find that he is no longer breathing, then treat him as you would a drowned person, and try to work back the breath into his body with artificial respiration.
The bowlines in the rope for dragging an insensible person.
Snake Bite