Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-01-09
HINTS FOR EMERGENCIES.
Lectures on the Immediate Treatment
Of Accidents and Sudden Illness.

Lectures on the Immediate Treatment
Of Accidents and Sudden Illness.
Not long since boy was Knocked down and
run over by cab near Iowa circle. and his left
leg badly cut No one seemed to know what to
do, and what was done was Just what should
not have been done. The timely and purely
accidental arrival Of . physician, who pro-
ceeded at once to stop the flow of blood, saved
the boys life, otherwise he would have bled to
death in fifteen minutes But q few weeks ago
| an old man on one Of the streets of neighbor-
ing city was observed to totter and fall. He
was immediately picked up and held in an
upright posture, when, as q subsequent exami-
nation showed, he had been struck by cardiac
failure or serious apoplexy, and should have
been laid on his right side, full length, given
plenty Of fresh air, and his legs feet and hands
well rubbed in which case he would have lived
instead of dying.
Just such incidents as these in the army, and
those arising from wounds received in battle
and otherwise, led the late Gen. Sheridan to
issue, something over year ago, an order rec
ommending the instruction of both officers and
enlisted men, by the surgeon Of the army, upon
the practical treatment in cases Of sudden
emergency.
In pursuance to this order Mai. W. II. Gard
ner, post surgeon at Washington barracks
delivered lecture, with practical illustrations
last evening, to large audience, composed
principaily OF the officers and men of the post.
Maj. Gardner began by saying that not q few
OF those present had stood on the skirmish
line, in the battle front, or secuted over the
mountains and plains Of the far west, and had
seen valuable lives lost that might have been
saved had their friends known how to render
needed assistance. This was so often the case
that he and number Of medical officers had
determined to publish book, to be carried by
every officer and enlisted man, which would
snow In compact form the quickest and SIM
piest means OF rendering assistance. Not only
would such information be invaluable to the
soldier, but to the citizen as well, in cases of
emergencies arising almost daily from sudden
and distressing accidents upon our crowded
thoronghfares. As no machinist is competent
to adjust trouble or repair damage to an
intricate machine unless he is acquainted with
lts construction, SO no person unacquainted
with the anatomy Of the most wonderful of all
machlnes-the human body-is capable of rem
derng proper and needful relief in cases of
dangerous or serious disarrangement or sew
erance OF its parts. Recognizing this, every
soldier In the German army was required to
carry the necessary appliances for simple ap-
pncation under such circumstances one article
OF winch Is triangular bandage on which is
stamped figures Of men represented as wounded
In different portions of the body, the mode of
application and suggestions for procedure.
HEMoRRHAaEs.
The subject selected for the first lecture
was that Of hemorrhages, to be followed by
others on fractures, burns, sudden illness, &C.,
later on.
1t should be known in the first place. he
said, and always remembered, that the arteries
are the tubes which carry the blood from the
heart to all parts Of the body, while the veins
conduct the blood from the extremities back
TO the heart The wounding of these blood
VESSELS arat ba ,osfc inf
mankind is liable, and when the rupture per-
talns to the arteries the result is speedily fatal
II not subjected to immediate and proper
treatment
Suppose that one should be cut in the arm
which is so often the case when, in a difficulty
one is warding off the blow of an assailant. II
a blood vessel is severed the victim turns PALE
sickens at the stomach, a cold, clammy sweat
collects on the brow, and the pulse weakens
and runs up from 20 to 80 to 100. What should
be done. Avoid excitement crowding the
patient or giving stimulant. In nine cases out
OF ten mistaken kindness administers LIQUOR
which Of all things is the worst, as it excites
the heart to vigorous action and increases the
flow OF blood Bear this in mind always he
said. II the blood is bright red and comes
from the wound in interrupted spurts it is
from the artery, and acompress, or tourniquet,
should be placed above or between the wound
and heart. A compress can be easily made by
twisting a handkerchief and tying heavy
knot in the center and then tying the handker-
Chief loosely around the arm, placing the knot
irst tied directly over the artery, which, it will
be found, runs down the inside of the arm. A
cane or short stick or in the army, a bayonet,
will answer, should be run through the blight
or loop on the outer side of the arm, and the
handkerchief drawn so tightly by twisting the
stick that the pressure of the knot will stop
the flow Of blood until the arrival of physi-
clan. Should the blood be dark scarlet, or
pour nom the wound in a steady stream il ia
from vein, and the compress should be placed
below the wound and on the outside Of the
arm 1t is often necessary to place a compress
on both the inner side and outer side OF the
arm.
A stab in the back is nearly always fatal if a
blood vessel is cut owing to the difficulty of
getting at the vessel to stop the flow of blood
In such cases the work of surgeon is all that
can avail anything, and too often even that is
unsuccessful.
THIGH, LEG, OR FEET WOUNDS,
when blood vessels are severed, are treated
much in the same way as the arm. Cuts ON the
inside of the thigh or leg are most dangerous,
as there the femoral, or main artery, hes ex-
posed, and unless compressed at once a man
would be dead in ten minutes. The position of
the femoral artery can be ascertained by feel
ing with the hand as its pulsations are in uni
son with the throbbings of the heart. Gen. Pack
enham, who commanded the Englis forces
AZ the Ddttie OF new orleans, January D. lSl5
was wounded through this artery and bled to
death before a surgeon could arrive. DR..
Gurthrle, in his Commentaries on Surgery"
says that Gen. Packenham was wounded in
Spain by musket ball passing through the
right side Of his neck. There was much loss Of
substance, and when the wound had healed
he returned to duty with stiff neck and
his head drawn to the right side. In subse-
quent battle he received similar wound on
the left side Of his neck, which healed in pre-
the same manner and drew his neck and head
all right and straight again.
THE ARTERY OF THE LED
divides just before the knee joint into three
smaller vessels, and in case Of hemorrhage
from cuts or otherwise it is best, he said. to
apply the compress directly and firmly over the
wound. The same rule obtains in wounds of
the hands and feet. Hemorrhages Of the head
chest and abdomen are almost universally fatal
for the reason that it is difficult to get at the
severed vessels to stop the flow or to ligature
them, or from the laceration of some viscous
whose integrity is necessary to life, or from in
hammation from the passage Of projectile or
weapon. At the same time, however, minlstra-
tons to the afflicted should not cease until the
victim is inevitably dead, for in many instances
injuries which at first sight seem to be neces-
sarily fatal have been recovered from.
REMARKABLE REcovERIEs.
DR.. Gardner cited as an example his personal
observation Of the body of the late General
Farnsworth, on which he counted thirty-two
scars received in battle from shell, shot,
swords, and bayonots, many Of them seemingly