The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-07-28
To Resuscitate the Drowned.

If q doctor can be had Immediately,
well and good; but do not waste a mo-
ment for one, for moments are precious
under such circumstances. Whenever
the body of o person is recovered, who
has not been more than thirty minutes
under the water, though seemingly dead,
there is possibility that life-may be re-
stored if the following instructions are
faithfully carried out:
The first thing to do, when the body is
taken out of the water, is to raise itgen-
tly. and, If water flows from the mouth,
encourage it to do so by favorable po
sition, but do not use any rough or vio-
lent means, such as rolling it on bar
rel, or holding it up by the heels, as is
sometimes ignorantly done. Such
treatment is both absurd and injurious,
and is calculated to extinguish any la
tent spark of vitality that may yet linger
in the frame, for you must recollect that
death is not caused by water rushing
| into the lungs, but by the want of air,
which was excluded by being under wa
ter. After draining the water from the
mouth, as above stated, lay the body on
the right side, the head and breast
slightly raised; get plank or shutter,
and remove the body to the nearest
house, or if no house is near, to a dry
and warm situation. No time should
be lost in doing this. Having cleansed
the mouth and nostrils of froth, mucus,
etc., the next important step (when
person is found with clothes on) is to
strip the body of its wet clothes, rub il
quickly dry, and if there is no warm
blanket or bed to be had, cover 1t over
with the spare clothes of the bystanders.
Let heat be applied to the body in every
possible way, for which purpose the hot
bath will be found the most efficacious
of any, and should always be employed
when the circumstances of the case will
admit, but in the absence of such con-
venience, the next application for re-
storing the natural heat, and which can
always be procured, is hot hannes
and hot bricks. The hot bricks,
wrapped up in dry cloth, should be
placed along the limbs and side of the
body, and to the feet. Gentle friction
with the warm flannel should be used all
over the body. If some whisky or
brandy can be had, made warm and
poured on the flannel, it will be more
j eficacious. Not more than q few min
utes should be occupied in putting this
process of restoring heat in operation
in fact, while it is in process an effort to
restore respiration should be used. This
is best done by gently opening the
mouth, depress the tongue, and draw it
gently forward; then press the dia-
phragm upward, so as to force out the
air in the lungs, which will be instantly
reflled upon remitting the pressure by
air spontaneously rushing in to fill the
vacuum. All that is required, there
fore, being the alternate pressure upon
the abdomen and chest and its remis-
sion, which process should be repeated
from fifteen to twenty times in minute,
so as to initiate natural breathing as
nearly as possible.
During the attempts to restore respi-
ration, friction with the hot flannel
should be unremittingly applied to the
body, and volatile stimulants (such as
spirits of hartshorn or carbonate of am
monia) held to the nose. If the eye
looks clear and gives the slightest sign
of contraction, and if any natural
warmth of the body is detected, there is
every prospect of restoring life.
Persevere diligently and hopefully in
the above treatment for at least half an
hour, or even more, for, according to
the reports of the Humane Society OF
London, several lives have been saved
who were submerged in the Thames
over half an hour, and when taken out
remained apparently dead for nearly an
hour.