ELECTRIC SHOCK

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 November 1930, Page 9

ELECTRIC SHOCK

help for victims. Several cases o£ serious accident through persons coining into contact with electric power lines or wires or appliances which are “live” have prompted many people to inquire what may be done should such an emergency arise in their homes or elsewhere when expert assistance is not at hand. The following method of treatment of such cases is exceedingly simple, and the facts arc very well worth careful- reading. The procedure is almost exactly similar to that employed in the Schaeffer method of the resuscitation of the apparently drowned, but, if anything, is more simple of application than in cases of drowning, in that there are seldom the complications of blocked throat and nose passages, and the victim is dry and therefore is not liable to chilling. The essential points are to commence resuscitation methods immediately, and to persevere exceedingly, for hours, if necessary, without interruption. . t These are the main points ot sets of rules issued, in one form or another, to linesmen and electrical workers practically the world ovei. fl) Quickly release the victim from the. live wire or defective appliance, being careful to avoid shock yourself. If in the home turn off the switch, but if the current cannot be .shut off use any dry non-conductor of electricity, clothing, rubber, a rope, eleven ’a board, to push either victim or tho live wire free. Beware of using anything metallic or damp, or you yourself may receive a heavy shock. Do not waste time carrying the patient any distance. Carry on at the closest possible point to the accident; that moment is precious. If absolutely essential to move, he should be placed on the floor or a hard surface, but definitely not on a bed or other soft surface, which will completely defeat the pressure method of resuscitation.

INSTANT APPLICATION.

(2) As soon as the victim is clear, quickly feel with your finger in his mouth and remove any foreign body, false teeth, etc., -but if the mouth is shut tight pay no more attention to it until later. Do not stop to loosen clothing, but begin immediately with resuscitation methods; every second is important. . (a) Turn the patient on Ins stomach with one arm stretched directly overhead, and the other bent at the elbow so that the head may rest upon it, with the side of the face resting upon the forearm of the bent arm, with the nose and mouth free. (b) Kneel straddling the patient’s hips, with the knees just below the hip joints; place the palms of your hands on the small of the back, with the fingers spread over the lowest rib, the thumb alongside the lingers, and the tips of the lingers curved round the body, just out of sight (c) While counting “one, two,” and with the arms held straight,. swing forward slowlv so that the weight of your body is gradually but not violently brought to bear upon the patient. This' act should take from two to three seconds. . (d) While counting three, immediately swing backward so as to remove the pressure. r, wo »>_ (e) While counting tour, five rest (f) Repeat deliberately twelve or fifteen times a minute the swinging backward and forward—a complete respiration in four or five seconds. Time these regular movements by your own breathing. . (g) As soon as this artificial respiration has been started, and while ' it is being continued, an assistant should loosen any tight clothing about the patient’s neck, chest, or waist,and should see to it that he is kept warm. Continue resuscitation, if necessary, for four hours or longer, without interruption, until natural breathing is restored, or until a doctor declares that rigor mortis (stiffening of the bod?) has set in. If natural breathing stops after being restored, commence icsuscitation again. . . , n . Do not give any liquid by mouth until the patient is fully conscious. Place ammonia near the nose, determining the safe distance by first Dying how near it may be held to your own nose. Give the patient fresh air. but keep him warm. When the patient revives keep him lying down; do not raise him. Do not move the patient until he is breathing normally without asistance. If alone with the victim do not neglect immediate and continued resuscitation in order to call a doctor. Start at once. But send someone else for the doctor without delay. It will be seen from these rules that immediate commencement of resuscitation is of first importance—no time is to be spent in moving the patient, even jthe first rule in all other cases of injury, send for , the doctor, is amended to read: “Commence at once and send someone else for the doctor,” tho loosening of clothing can wait, unless, of course, there is such tightness as to amount to serious pressure, until an assitant can attend to it.

Tfie first and last rule is: Commence with the least possible delay and persevere with steady regularity until rigor mortis sets in.

That this prone pressure method of artificial respiration practised by all who have interestad themselves in ambulance and life-saving work as the simplest and most effective method of restoring breathing in cases of drowning is applicable to cases of electric shock is not known as it should be. The same method is equally applicable to cases of suspended respiration due to- inhalation of smoke, gas, or fumes. It is too valuable and too simple a. hethod not to be studied, and, very much better, practised, for study and practice may save the life of a child, a friend, a stranger.