The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1845-02-21

will occur as If the person were raiset
from the ground. Ii is therefore necessa
ry 10 remember, from the first moment o
the accident TO the last before the cure
that in raising a broken limb, care mus
be taken 10 use both hands, the one pla
ced below, and the other above the poin
of fracture, as if the limb were in two Sc
parate pieces, and but slightly held to
gether.
1t may happen that the patient is insen
slble and the seat of injury not obvious
lie may be suffering from compression o.
the brain, or conclusions, or fracture of the
skull or spine, or may have sustained
some internal and severe injury. In suc
cases the worst consequences are 10 be
apprehended, and the patient must be trea,
ted with the utmost tenderness. If the
power of swallowing remain, which may
be known by pouring little water into
The mouth, little wine, or spirit and wa.
ter, may invariably be given, and this is
necessary; great mischief often arises
from doing too much. Let the patient be
| placed on Il litter. and carried home, or to
the nearest hospital, with grea, care and
tenderness.
To return to the case of fractured Leo.
Before placing the patient in bed, be
careful that every thing is well prepared
Tor his reception, as he will have to re-
main there at least one month without
moving the broken limb. 1t is of great
importance to have the bed so hard and
smooth, as to receive no impression from
the weight of the body. A small French
bedstead, wide enough for one person on
ly, will be found most convenient, a lath
bottom being indispensable If this cannot
be had, an ironing board must be placed
on the sacking, and on this a horse-har
mattraSs, covered by blanket, over which
nail down the shee! tightly on both sides.
In removing the palien, from the shut
ter, place it on line, and level with the
bed, and let him shift! himself upon it, as
we have before described. Before this
removal, splnts had better be applied to
the limb, as II can then be supported with
less pain to the fractured parts.
Fractures of the arm and forearm are
in general more easily cured than those
OF The lower extremity, although the tu-
ture freedom Of the forearm depends in a
great measure on the tact and talent of the
surgeon. They, of course, do not in
voIve the necessity of maintaining the re-
cumbent position; and all that is neces-
sary, previous to professional attendance,
is, the placing the arm in sling or half
handkerchief, which should extend from
the elbow TO the wrist.
Setting broken limb means nothing
more than placing the fractured ends of
the bone opposite each other, and retain.
ing them there by the application of
spllnts made of wood or mill-board. Much
misrepresentation prevails on this point;
1t is generally considered as formidable
operation, requiring to be performed as
soon after the accident as possible. When
the fracture happens to be compound
one, with one end of the bone perhaps
protruding through the skin, il is then
desirable to reduce it as soon as possible;
but otherwise, it may be postponed until
the bed is fully prepared for the patients
future requirements.
In closing this paper, the writer cannot
help advefllng to two points of great i'm
portance IN the treatment of fractures
they are, on the Improperly Of boodle,-
ting, and the use OF cold applications, du-
ring any period of the subsequent treat
ment. Bleeding by some is had recourse
to proven. inflammation this will not do;
and the proof is. that uniformly, the more
delicate the subject, the greater is the de-
gree OF susceptibility TO its attacks. But
in fractures, we have really no inAamma-
ton to dread, nor blood TO spare, for ma
ture will require more than her usual sup
ply to repair the injury sustained, and, if
needlessly sublracled, the period of cure
will be proportionally prolonged.
With respect to cold applications, we
do not always sufficiently discriminate
the nature of the complaint for which
they are used.-For pain arising from in
aammatory action, cold is an excellent ap-
pllcaiion; but for pain arising from con-
fusion of parts. warm lamentations are by
far the most soothing and efficient. |, is
a trite observation. that old fractures are
as sensitive to atmospheric changes as the
barometer. Where warmth alone has
been used, the writer has never known
this TO occur.