New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1880-10-13
What TO Do in Emergencies.

What TO Do In Emergencies.
DIR. NORMAN BRIDGE delivered
very interesting and instructive lecture,
yesterday evening, to large audience
in the Lower Farwel Hall, having for
his subject, .sWhat to Do in Emergen-
cies in the Absence of Physician"
which he treated in colloquial way,
thus making his remarks all the more
appreciable to those who heard them.
The trouble in connection with emer-
gencies was that people would insist in
managing them in an unphilosophical
way. The things which even the doc
tor could do in such cases were very
few, and the necessity of summoning
him was not SO great as was many
times imagined. The things to be ac-
complished lay in the way Of aiding the
process of Nature, while those which
people were in the habit of doing wera
frequently directly to the contrary. In
r many cases Nature supplied abundant
means for remedy, and all that was
necessary was for the bystanders to
| keep their hands off from u suddenly
sick person. .-~. .. ... F.. ...-
Taking up such emergencies in the
order of their frequency of occurrence,
he spoke first of the simple accident of
fainting. As matter of fact, a simple
fainting fit was merely the result of
temporary cessation of the flow of blood
to the brain, and no one ever died of it.
In few moments the blood ran back
to the brain again and the fit was over.
And yet people did all kinds of ridicu-
lous things to the patient, lifting him up
and throwing cold water into his face,
the former process really tending to re-
tard the cure, while the latter made no
difference either way. The patient
should be allowed TO lie on the ground
as he fell, the horizontal position being
most favorable to the return of tho
blood to the brain. If the recovery did
not soon occur the feet might be raised.
by which means the blood would be sent
from the extremities, and the patient
would recover almost immediately.
Occasionally person who was sick at
the time of the fainting would die I'M
der the fit, but the raising him up and
applications of cold water would only
have a tendency to make him die all
the quicker.
Children in commissions, form of
sickness which, by reason of it's dread
full appearance, frightened the friends
of the patients, were subjected to all
sorts of foolish treatment; were plunged
into hot baths, dashed with cold water,
shaken, flagellated, and not unfrequent-
ly dosed with medicine. In 999 out of
1000 cases the convulsion is an cpl
leptic fit, which lasts generally about
three minutes, and in which it was very
unusual for a patient to die. Occasion
ally, where there is disease of the brain,
the fit might last an hour or more, or
he might die; but the recovery of the
patient in any case would not be hast
ened by the adoption of any of the
treatment alluded to. At the end of
the fit the sufferer usually fell into a
deep slumber, and nothing should be
done to interfere with this means taken
by Nature to aid the recovery of the
patient. The same statement applied
TO the hysterical fit, which was matter
killed anybody; and even in the apo
plectic fit nothing could be done further
than to keep the patients mouth clear,
so that breathing might not be imped-
ed, and to prevent him from hurting
himself or other people from doing so.
In cases where children suffered from
conclusions people were afraid to let
the sufferers 90 to sleep. The knock
on the head which the child received in
the fall produced certain injuries in the
brain, and Natures process for curing
them was to let the parts rest, and this
caused the desire to sleep to arise after
such an accident: This desire should
always be- gratifed, the child being
placed in as favorable conditions to q
good sound sleep as soon as possible.
On the subject of hemorrhage the
doctor explained that it was necessary
for people tC tell by the pulse whether
the patient was in danger or not The
normal rate of the pulse was from sew
enty to eighty beats q minute; if a pa
as high as from one hundred and twenty
tc one hundred and forty beats min
ute, which indicated that the patient
was in danger. The easiest way to
check the bleeding was to apply pres
sure at the point where the blood was
flowing from the external. injury. A
handkerchief or finger plunged into
the wound could always accomplish this.
It was good thing, too, to elevate the
limb where the cut or bruise was, as
that brought the attraction of gravita-
ton to the aid. Applications Of cold
water, which contracted the blood-ves-
sells and retarded the flow of blood,
were also beneficial. How to dress a
serious wound was also a matter which
puzzled people great deal. The best
thing to apply was hot water, which
gave the injured parts the best oppor-
tunity of recovery which they could
have: The water SHOULD always be at
temperature somewhat higher than that
of the blood-say from ninety-eight to
one hundred degrees.
The emergency Of great pain was one
which often occurred to children, and
under circumstances which might lead
to the destruction of some of the senses.
One of the most common pains was that
which occurred in the ear, the best
means of alternating which was the ap-
plication of hot water. A constant
stream of hot water should be poured
into the child's ear by means of
syringe or teaspoon, and it would
soon stop the pain. The child should
then be allowed to rest, and if the pain
occurred again, the same treatment
should be repeated. Earache should
never be disregarded, as it was quite
likely to result in loss of hearing. Heat
was the most useful of ali simple
agents to stop pain. lamentations
should be applied as hot as possible,
and common wringingmachine was a
very useful help in handling the cloths
just taken from the intensely hot
water. The person handling the cloths
for the patient might not be able easily
to stand their heat, but patient suffer-
ing from the collie, for instance, would
welcome them heated almost up to the
scalding point. ..