The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1896-07-11
LESSONS IN FIRST AID
A TRAINED NURSE TELLS ABOUT
QUICK REMEDIES.

How to Place . Bandage-An Impro-
Of Nosebleed and Burns.
She was a very capable little woman
and usually ''sized up to any occasion,
but the care of those children was likely
to prove q little too much for her.
When she married a widower and un-
dertook the care of his five boys she
knew that she would have to face many
unexpected situations, and braced her.
self to do her best. She was not pre-
pared, however, for what she called the
"breakage'' in the family. The constant
risk to life and limb that five active,
sport loving boys were capable Of was a
new feature in her young life. and she
felt that she was in danger of losing her
head unless she prepared herself to meet
the different calls upon her motherly
care.
In her extremity she appealed to her
friend, the trained nurse.
Cant you give me some points," she
said. "Tell me Of the proper things to
do before the doctor comes in case Of
certain accidents-won't you? Then
there are many little things-bruises
and burns and things that I could attend
to myself without sending for a doctor
if I only knew how. Do help me ont.
Suppose, for instance, one of the boys
fell and broke his arm, what should I
do before the doctor came?'
eff l were you, l would do nothing
but wait, unless the surgeon was delay
ed. In that case I would simply place
the limb in between a folded pillow,
fastening the pillow firmly together,
thus making a sort Of splint.
"You will very likely have a sprain
or two to deal with. You can either ap-
ply cloths saturated with ice water un.
til the swelling disappears, or you may
use very hot water with vinegar in the
same way. After the swelling has dis
appeared you had better bandage the
limb and let the little patient rest it on
q level until it gets strong"
but I don't know how to apply q
bandage," was the forlorn reply.
"Then it is about time that you did, "
said the trained nurse. "Give me a
piece Of muslin and your bare foot. and
I'll show you how"
Then the nurse took the piece Of mus.
lin and tore it into strips Of 8 inches in
width. Then saying. always begin at
the extremity Of a limb and work to-
ward the center Of the body from left to
right" she placed n Of the ends Of
the strip at the instep and made a turn
around the base Of the toe. Then she
carried the band d~iagonally over the
foot, across the point of the heel and
back from the other side, until it COIN
cided with the first turn. This was then
covered and carried a second turn around
the heel half an inch higher than the
first. She then continued to make alter.
the heel. crossing over the instep until
the entire foot was covered. In finish.
ing the bandage she split the last quar-
ter Of yard Of the strip through the mid
die. wound the ends in opposite direc-
ton around the limb and tied them in
q bow.
Then the band was all unwound
again. and the pupil. trying her hand.
was delighted to see what a firm band
age" she could make after two or the e
attempts.
I'm case Of dislocation." continued
the nurse, "there ia always need of in.
slant action. Muscular tension increases
rapidly and its reduction becomes more
difficult with every hour that passes.
FINGERS and thumbs can be set by
pulling in place, but be careful not to use
too much force. A joint is always weak
er after an accident and should be strap
ped in place until strong again.
"Freddie's nose bled aWfully the 9TH
or day and frightened me so because I
could not stop it. 1t stopped itself after
awhile, but what should 1 have done:"
"It is a good thing to press gently the
facial artery at the base of the nose and
place cold applications to forehead and
neck. I suppose you had him lean his
head over a basin. Yes: most people
do, and that is just the worst attitude
possible. You should have made him
stand erect, throw his head Lack and
elevate his arms, while you held a cold.
damp sponge to his nostriis. If you have
an occasion like that al,ain. and tho
bleeding continues after what I have
told you to do has been tried. you had
better syringe with salt and ice cold
water or Q solution Of iron.
I'm the cas- Of burns or scalds, il
they " very bad send for your physi.
elan. but slight mes you can very we'll
attend To- The 1rst thing in such cases
- 70 exclude the air. ind that baking
soda and sweet oil make . soothing,
healing application. II you can't got
that convonientlv beat mn the white Of