Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-04-14

The Police Taught HOW to Succ0r Per-
sons Suffering from Street Acct.
dents.

BANEFUL EFFECTS OF sTIMULANTs DIsTIN-
GUSHING BETWEEN CASES OF DRUNKENNESS
AND FORMS OF DISEASE.
From the New York Herald, April 9Th.
A conversation was had yesterday with Dr. A.
E. Nichols, of No. 63 West 3Sth street, who is
engaged In delivering to the police Of this city
course of lectures on behalf Of the Society for
instruction in First Aid to the Injured. This
society was organized in January. 1892 upon
the same principles as the st. John Ambulance
ASSOCIATION Of England,
1.-The object of this society," said DR.. Nichols,
sis to give instruction as to the proper manner
and means of aiding sick and injured persons,
and the result which 1t especially desires to
accomplish Is the saving Of that needless suffer-
Ing in cases Of accident which is so frequently
caused by the ignorance of the unskilled per-
sons with whom the patient is first brought
in contact. How a person suffering from q
broken limb should be handled, how bleed
ing from an artery can be stopped, and the
treatment of other injuries requiring prompt
action, are the matters to which the society
gives most prominence in its course of instruc-
ton. Since its foundation large number of
lectures has been given to both pay and free
classes at the central office of the society," No.
East 14th street. to railway employees at the
Grand Central depot and to the employees of
some of the large factories in the city, such as
Robert Hoe IL Co.'s and the Delamater Iron
Works. Any one can take these lectures by ap-
plying at the central office. At present only two
classes have been formed in the police depart
ment. Each class consists OF about thirty men
from the first precinct. lecture to one class
and Dr.. W. II. Murray, Of Chambers-street hos
pital, to the other. 1t Is the intention of the
society to instruct the whole police department
in first aid. course consists of five lectures
one lecture every week"
SICK PERSONS ARRESTED FOR DRUNKENNESS.
The reporter called the attention of the doc
tor to the large number of sick persons igno-
rantly arrested by the police as intoxicated
Many or such cases are known to have resulted
in death, when this might have been prevented
or the patients lite prolonged by proper med-
cal treatment.
cit is the very object of these lectures" said
DR.. Nichols. "to obviate any such fatal results.
1t is our aim so to instruct the police that such
cases cannot occur in the future
is it not common thing for persons to be
found insensbe 1.-THE streets and to be arrested
by the police and locked up as drunk ?"
when man is found insensbe," responded
Dr. Nichols, - in many cases it is impossible for
any one to decide at the first examination
whether he Is drunk or whether ne is suffering
from some other complaint. He would exhibit
no symptom sufficiently prominent to enable
one to distinguish between alcoholism. concus-
son or compression of the brain, epilepsy or
other like diseases These lectures will teach
the police that there are other CallSes of insens
bility than Drunkenness
'But man who Is drunk will have the fumes
OF liquor about him."
"NOw. that is Just the trouble; that is the one
misleading sign" was the reply. at Is very
common thing for man who is sick or becomes
insensible to have whisky poured down his
throat by some ignorant but well-neaning
person No matter how little the patient NAV
have swallowed he will smell of it. and it fol-
lows that some inexperienced officer into whose
hands he falls will make up his mind that he is
drunk and will treat him accordingly. Then
again, 1t may be that the unfortunate one. not
feeling we'll had taken glass of wine or two
preceding his stroke of apopleXy or his fit He
smells OF liquor. but the man was not drunk
A CASE IN POINT.
"a case in point is reported in to-day's paper
One Stephen McTighe was arrested Yesterday
or the Gay before in Jersey City for drunkenness
Later in the evening he was found lying I'M
conscious in his cell. The city physician advised
his removal to the city hospital, and he died
there yesterday morning. 1t was apopleyy
which was supposed to have caused his death
NOW DO not mean to say that this mans lite
would have been saved but in this case, as in
others Of the same kind, his life might at least
have been prolonged In cases of conclusion
and compression Of the brain the chances of
living are very good provided the patient re-
ceiyes proper treatment at the outset
1.-The police frequently enough find genuine
cases OF drunkenness. Do YOU propose to saw
what should be done with those cascs?'
"A man who Is thoroughly drunk" said Dr.
Nichols. needs as much good treatment as anv
other who from different causes is unable TO take
care of himself His temperature is lowered and
ne is liable when in such condition to contract
disease. especially pneumonia. He should be
put to bed and kept warm instead Of being
locked up in cold cell. OF course it does not
seem Just, according to the common way of
looking at the matter. to treat man well who
has voluntarily placed himself in such a state
but when you think that life may be at stake it
does not seem SO unreasonable. drunken
man Is almost Invariably In condition to con-
tract pneumonia. the worst form of this disease
being alcoholic pneumonia, and very few of
these cases recover. The police should at least
see that such person is kept warm and not
suffered to lie in the wet and cold. When a man
Is found insensible a surgeon ought to be called
at once, and this is the practice Of many of
the police captains. A man who is suffering
from conclusion of the brain should also
cases OF accident, where an ambulance is
called the police are notified as it is through
that department the call is made, so that DO
liceman is always present very soon after the oc-
currence. Thus we see the importance of their
being instructed in these matters. After the
ambulance is called 1t may be fifteen minutes or
half an hour before it arrives and during that
time. unless efficient aid is rendered the patient
may die from loss of blood or the loss of blood
may be so great that recovery is impossible
The aid rendered during this time-before the
arrival of the mbuance-frequentlyd decides the
fate Of the patient. In cases OF fracture a SIM
pie fracture may be rendered compound by I'M
skillful or rough handling. One of the Sharp
fragments Of bone may be pushed through the
skin or the main artery of the part may be cut.
leading In some cases to fatal results or at least
to an amputation Of the limb. We teach the
police how to handle these cases. how to i'm
provise splints out Of any strip of wood
that may be handy, and how to apply
them and put the man in proper position
THE DANGER OF GIVING LIQUOR.
els it not common practice" asked the re-
porter. Gin such cases to give the injured person
ardent spirHs:'
eyes. 1t is the practice to give the patient all
the whisky he can drink. or even to make him
take more than he really wants, thinking that in
this way they will counterfeit the effects of the
accident. Serious results frequently follow the
giving of such large doses of stimulant. The
patients stomach is so intensely irritated that
uncomfortable vomiting sets in after time and