TALKS ON HEALTH

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 21 May 1936, Page 3

TALKS ON HEALTH

BY A FAMILY DOCTOR A SCALP WOUND Li a case of bleeding from the scalp, if you want to render intelligent first aid you must hear in mind the following rules. First of all you must comfort the injured by saving that it isn't much, and that it would take a steam-roller to kill a man of his stamp. If you look anxious, you will double your patient's pain and shock. The next tiling is to locate the wound amidst the tangle of hair and blood. To do this you must have a good light, and don’t he afraid to ask for it. Do not let a crowd of useless onlookers crowd around. FIRST AID Having found the wound, the next thing is to cut the hair oil close to the scalp with a pair of scissors or a razor. This gives a clear view of tiie wound, and you can sec what you are about. Next* take a clean rag or jticce of cotton-wool and press it tightly on the wound, and keep it there while you give the man's head and neck and face a general clean-up. The sight of blood unnerves most people, and you must carefully remove every speck of blood from Die area around the wound and any region to which it lias trickled. At the same time all blood-stainecl garments should be removed. The collar, scarf, coat and waistcoat may he taken off. When the man is taken home, it is as well that as little blood should ho seen as possible. This clean-up is the kindest thing you can do, and you must do it thoroughly. It is astonishing wliat an ugly mess can he made from the blood trickling down from a scalpwound only half an inch long. DRESSINGS IN THE HOUSE By this time the pressure of the cotton-wool pad against the wound will have stopped the bleeding. Give the wound a good wash. Plain water will do if it- is clean and put in a clean basin. If you have had a training in Die Royal* Army Medical Corps or any similar institution, you might he allowed to put a stiteli in the wound, but 1 do not advise you to start practising on some unfortunate patitent _if you have not had many opportunities of seeing how it should lie done. Then, finally, some clean antiseptic gauze should be applied, and over that some cotton-wool, and then a firm bandage. Have you got a few simple dressings in your house ? If not, you ought to have. Some cyanide guaze, boracic lint, cotton-wool, and a. few bandages (one-iucli and two-incli) should be in every household. 111 all your dealings with the wound, scrupulous cleanliness must be the rule. Alwavs wash your hands before touching a wound. REST FOR THE PATIENT Before leaving vour patient, you must always look carefully at both his ears to make sure that there is no blood or fluid of any description flowing from the ear-passages. If you do detect any sort of a discharge, bloodstained or otherwise, it is a sign that the skull may be fractured. Whether the injury appears to you serious or not, always persuade him to lie down and rest. If he refuses, then it is his own look-out; yon have done your best, and if any complications follow you cannot be blamed. Vomiting is a sign of shock and concussion. You wish your patient to remain quiet and calm. Do not, therefore, give him brandy, which excites, the brain. ULCER ON THE TONGUE Never neglect an ulcer on the tongue. The tongue is a a very common site for cancer, especially in the male sex. The ulcer may he merely the outcome of rubbing against a sharp tooth; attention to the tooth will cure the ulcer. But if the ulcer is neglected and allowed to persist until it becomes chronic, then there may he danger ahead. Always show lumps, ulcers, or tumours to a surgeon at the earliest possible moment. To get rid of an ordinary ulcer of the tongue, . you should avoid very hot food, cayenne pepper, curries, pickles, sauces, and also sharp crusts. Smoking should he given up altogether, and spirits are to be avoided. It is impossible to apply any ointment to the tongue, but the surface of the ulcer and the whole mouth should he frequently cleansed by the free use of an antiseptic mouthwash. A solution of carbolic in the proportion of one part in sixty of water is a useful and simple mouth-, wash.

THE STUDY OF DISEASE In the case of an obscure death, the coroner orders a post-mortem examination to be held to clear up the cause of death. We have no power to resist the order; but occasionally a private doctor suggests that a post-mortem examination should be made on the body of his private patients. The study of di.sfcase must always be very dillieult and we ought to embrace every opportunity of extending our knowledge. If ever you feel inclined to refuse your consent to an examination, think to yourself that the knowledge gained may be the means of helping the doctor to cure or prevent a similar condition in someone else. After all, the body is doomed to decay, and it seems a small matter to allow the doctor to make sure what was really the matter when lie has been treating a dillieult and obscure case. Moreover, it is the doctor’s duty to fill up the death certificate as accurately as possible in ord(jr that the statistics may be of value. • PULES AND PRACTICES It may sound strange, but if I could persuade you to adopt certain rules of health I could reduce all illnesses by one-lmlf in a very few weeks. What is wanted is the means of bringing home to the people the truths that are known to medical science. It is useless to spend public money on research, and then, when some wonderful discovery is made, to leave it in the laboratory; we have to carry out into practice in our daily lives the recommendations that the scientists make. The man with the microscope, working with scientific precision, discovers (lie germs of disease on a fly’s foot. What is the good of that? No good, if the people refuse to take steps to exterminate ilics. We learn that vermin are capable of carrying the seeds of disease in their interiors and transmitting them into the blood of the persons they bite, and yet year succeeds year and no determined effort is made bv the people to rid themselves of these posts.