Heat cramps occurs in persons who are physically active while exposed to a high surrounding temperature. The cause is a depletion of salt (sodium chloride) in the body, resulting from evaporation of large quantities of water through the sweat pores. The symptoms are painful cramps especially in the calves of the legs and in the abdomen. WHAT TO DO Prevention and treatment of heat cramps consist...

When a victim's heart stops beating, it is not easy to tell whether his life might be saved by external cardiac massage (resuscitation of the heart). So the only safe rule is to give the patient the benefit of the doubt and apply external cardiac massage in every case of heart stoppage. To stimulate the heart to resume beating, it used to be thought necessary to make an incision in the chest and actually...

A heart attack may come as a surprise, or the victim may have known he had heart disease or high blood pressure. Symptoms vary, but often include extreme pain and temporary unconsciousness. With good care, many victims of heart attack recover completely. In a few cases death occurs soon after the attack strikes. There are three principal causes of heart attack: A. Angina Pectoris. The attack in this case is...

See also Fractures: I. Fractures of the Skull.) Head injuries, common in traffic accidents, in falls, and in incidents of violence, are generally more serious in childhood because the child's skull is weaker, and the likelihood of fracture greater. However, severe damage to the brain or hemorrhage may occur even when no fracture exists. Symptoms of drowsiness or loss of consciousness (even for a...

When a single bullet passes through the body or part of the body, the wound of entrance is smaller than that of exit. Injury by shotgun at close range causes more damage to the tissues than that by the single bullet from a rifle. The wound caused by a shotgun blast may contain fragments of clothing, perhaps some wadding of the shell, and individual pieces of shot. Because the extent of the damage caused...

A fracture is a broken bone. A child's bone, containing less calcium and phosphorus than an adult's, often cracks and bends without breaking completely. This is a "greenstick" fracture. The common type of fracture of an adult bone is spoken of as a simple fracture with the break usually straight across the shaft of a big bone and no broken ends protruding. The more severe type of fracture,...

A. Insect in the Ear WHAT TO DO 1. Hold a lighted flashlight near the ear in a darkened room. The light may encourage the insect to leave the ear canal. 2. Tilt the victim's head slightly so that the affected ear is uppermost. Then pour glycerin, olive oil, or cooking oil into the ear canal, allowing it to remain a few minutes. This should suffocate the insect. 3. Then irrigate the ear gently...

Fainting is a temporary loss of consciousness. It commonly results from a reduction in the blood supply to the brain. For a discussion of its causes, see chapter 16, "List of Signs and Symptoms," under Fainting. WHAT TO DO Place the victim in a horizontal position with the feet elevated slightly above the level of the body. Apply cold water or a cold compress to face and head. Clothes fitting...

Drowning is America's fourth leading cause of accidental death, accounting for about 7000 casualties per year. A drowning swimmer often panics, making it dangerous for another swimmer to attempt a rescue lest he be pulled under the water. Better than a person to- person rescue is to throw the swimmer a rope or life preserver or give him an oar or pole. If the person in danger has been injured,...

Diving is an important part of swimming. The greatest hazard of this sport is the possibility of striking the head against something solid, like a rock or the floor of the swimming pool. WHAT TO DO The rescuer should restrain the impulse to get the diver out of the water quickly, for the victim's neck may have been  Injured, even broken. Such action could injure or even sever the victim's...

In a dislocation of a joint, one of the bones which forms part of the joint be comes misplaced. The bones that form a joint are normally held in place by the fibrous "capsule" of the joint and by ligaments that span the joint. In a dislocation, the capsule and one or more ligaments are stretched or tom. It is often difficult to tell the difference between a dislocation and a fracture. In such a case,...

Occasionally circumstances prevent the attendance of a physician at the delivery of a baby. In this emergency someone must help the mother through the childbirth and take care of her and the baby until a physician arrives or until mother and baby can be placed in a hospital. When circumstances permit, the following items should be made ready before the birth: 1. A basket or bassinet lined with soft blankets. 2. ...

Delirium means that a very sick patient is "out of his head"-mentally confused, anxious, unable to cooperate. His speech makes no sense, and his imagination may be out of control. For mention of various conditions in which delirium may occur, see chapter 16, "List of Signs and Symptoms," under Delirium. Symptoms include: Changes in alertness (usually more alert in the morning, less...

A cut, in contrast to a puncture wound, usually lies open, bleeds easily, and is less likely to become infected. Such a wound is commonly caused by a knife, a razor, broken glass, or any sharp edge.       WHAT TO DO Simple cuts can be safely treated at home. Deeper or more extensive cuts, particularly those in which nerves and blood vessels may be involved, require the services of a physician....

This condition occurs commonly in young children during winter nights. The child may appear well during the daytime except, possibly, for a slight cold. The attack awakens the child from sleep and alarms the parents because of the child's difficulty in drawing air into his lungs and because of the barking cough. There may develop a bluish tinge about the child's lips and at the base of his fingernails. WHAT...

The condition causing a convulsion may be serious. Therefore a convulsion should be reported immediately to a physician. Meanwhile, though the cause is not yet known, the victim can be handled as follows: WHAT TO DO 1. Place the victim on something wide and soft such as a bed or a thick rug so that he will not be injured by his involuntary motions-if on a bed, stand guard so that he will not fall off. 2....

Choking or strangling occurs when a person accidentally draws food into the air passages leading to the lungs or attempts to swallow a piece of food too large to pass through the esophagus. It may occur when a child at play breathes a small object into his larynx. The person makes a great effort to breathe. He is unable to speak. His head is thrown back, his eyes protrude, and his face becomes bluish red....

We usually think of a burn as an injury to the skin caused by heat. However, a severe burn may involve other tissues as well as the skin. It can be caused not only by heat but by chemicals, electric current, or radiation such as X rays, a nuclear reactor, or an atomic bomb. In severe burns the patient's life is in danger from shock, loss of fluid, and disturbance of chemical balances. A. Ordinary Burns...

A bruise is an injury to the deeper tissues. The small blood vessels are broken in the bruised tissues and blood escapes into these tissues, causing them to swell and become dark in color. It is this blood in the tissue spaces that causes a bruised area, as it heals, to appear "black and blue." WHAT TO DO 1. As soon as possible, bathe the bruised part with cold compresses wrung from ice water,...

There are four kinds of poisonous snakes in the United States, the bites of which endanger life: (1) rattlesnakes,  (2) water moccasins (cottonmouths),  (3) copperheads, and (4) coral snakes. The first three just mentioned are called "pit vipers" and these cause 98 percent of the poisonous snakebites in the United States. The following precautions will help you to avoid...

These bites are especially serious because of the strong  Convenient readymade bandages of gauze and adhesive tape are available in various small sizes at the drugstore or in most markets. This type of bandage is used for abrasions, lacerations, and open wounds, in the case of a wound of the palm of the hand, probability of infection. Also, the dread disease of rabies is transmitted by the bite of...

Principles of Bandaging: A bandage should be snug but not so tight as to impede blood circulation. The question of how tight is always difficult. One may have to remove and replace a bandage a time or two in order to find the happy medium. Even then, the swelling may decline and the bandage become too loose, or the injured tissues may swell and the bandage become too tight. A bandage applied to the leg, the...

In asthma there is interference with the passage of air through the membrane-lined tubes which serve the lungs. These tubes (the bronchi) become swollen and congested. There is more difficulty in expelling air from the lungs than in drawing it in. The typical picture is that of a child, sitting bolt upright in bed with his arms extended at his sides, pressing downward against the bed. His skin appears blue...

Persons who become suddenly sick or injured do not have labels on them telling what the trouble is and what help should be given. So any person available to render aid has to evaluate the victim's condition and decide what to do. Let us suppose that you are the person who must give emergency care to someone suddenly taken sick or injured. Don't waste time in bemoaning your lack of training. Do the...