Birmingham state herald., 1897-02-26
FIRST TREATMENT TO THE IN
 JURED.

FIRST TREATMENT TO THE IN New York Tribune.
 pr. Ali D. Meyer gave his second lec- ture to the Friday class, on First Aid to the Injured,'' in the lecture room of the Society for the Instruction in First Aid to the Injured. The treatment of shock" wounds, hemorrhages and burns was the topic. Dr. Meyer said that the shock caused by an injury was ire quently more dangerous than the injury itself, and demanded almost the first at tention Nervous shock enters into wounds, contusIons, frost bite, blows and, indeed, into almost every form Of injury, varying in degree in different per sons, and in the same person at difterent times. Chronic invalids rarely suffer as much from shock as people of robust health. Women, as rule, suffer rom it less than men, while the man Of phleg- matic temperament is less susceptible than he of sanguine temperament. The symptoms are: The face pale, pinched and worried; skin cold and bathed in chill precipitation, especially the forehead; !; pulse still, or decidedly faint; eyes dull and heavy; breath coming in signs; finger nails blue. A shock differs from fainting in the fact that the sufferer may retain consciousness, and his condition resen- bles dying more closely in it's symptoms.
 In treating for shock place the patient in a reclining position, the head only slightly elevated; stop the bleeding, and loosen all tight clothing; then rub the limbs with hot cloths; apply hot fomen- tations in the form of water bottles, hot bricks, hot irons, wrapped in newspa- pers-anything accessible. If the injury is not in the head, administer stimu- lants from teaspoon to tablespoonful of whisky or brandy in four times the quantity of hot water. If the patient cannot drink, give an enema of a table spoonful of whisky in six tablespoonfulS of hot water, from four to six times an hour The reaction from shock is ire quently dangerous, taking the form of fever, in which case it should be treated as such, or even congestion of the brain, and death has been known to result.
 Regarding wounds, Dr. Meyer said that they might be roughly divided into five classes: The cut or incised, inflicted by any sharp instrument; the torn or lacerated, caused by blunt instrument, such as club or falling brick; the bruised or confused, in which class the skin is not severed, but the underlying tissues are torn, the pierced or punctured as by the thrust of a dagger or gunshot and poison wounds inflicted by the bite of an insect, snake or rabid dog.
 Dr. Meyer, after explaining the nature of the different wounds, proceeded to show how they should be treated, min utely describing the use and making of the compress and various bandages. An efficient and quickly arranged compress is formed by folding one or two clean handkerchiefs into a pad, which should be pressed tightly upon the spot and kept in position by a bandage. A boy served as 'model' or lay figure, by whose aid the lecturer demonstrated the modes of folding and tying bandages for the different classes of wounds, also pointing out the arteries controlling the flow of blood to different parts of the body, as such knowledge is frequently valuable in stopping hemorrhage.
 Dr. Meyer laid special stress upon the necessity for absolute cleanliness in treating all forms of wounds and burns. Only fresh water should be used, as germs collect with startling rapidity in water that has stood a short time The best way to cleanse wound of any kind is to dip a clean linen cloth into fresh water either warm or cold, and, squeez- ing it gently between the fingers, al- low a steady stream to pour upon the opening.
 The lecturer explained the healing "by first intention;' showed how to apply adhesive plaster to both incised and lacerated wounds in such a manner as to avoid covering the opening complete Iv which Is n inportant point