THE HOME DOCTOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21112, 20 February 1932, Page 7 (Supplement)

THE HOME DOCTOR.

When children bleed profusely after a Simple cut or wound, % doctor should be summoned, or serious complications may arise. ' / Many children bleed profusely after a tooth has been extracted. A flush of blood is to be expected, and does good, as any poisonous matter which may have been secreted in the gum at the root of the iooth, will come away with the blood-flow; hut after the flush has taken place, the bleeding should'cease. If excessive bleeding continues, get a small piece of /cotton-wool and insert it in the cavity with the aid of a darning needle or a bodkin. Place a second and larger piece of cotton-wool over the whole wound,-then, laying the child fiat, tell him to bite harcf on it. In the case of a bad cut on the foot or leg, the child, should be laid flat and the leg raised to a position that is higher than the body. The cut or wound should then be well bathed in warm water to which a little boracic powder has been added, and after mopping the part dry, a pad of cotton-wool or folded white rag should be placed immediately over the cut and tied round tightly with a bandage or handkerchief. The leg should be kept raised until the bleeding stops. Children often fall and the palms of the hands are cut on sharp pebbles or the edge of the kerb. A cut and profuse bleeding in the palin of the hand should be treated in exactly the same way as a leg or foot injury, the child being made to lie down and keep the arm and hand raised until the bleeding ceases. ' If nose-bleeding is persistent, medical advice should be sought. Laying the patient flat must be insisted upon, although this is often a diflicult .thing to accomplish with a nervous, frightened child. If the bleeding is excessive, the nose should be plugged with I piece of cotton-wool in the same way is for bleeding from the gum; although In the case of bleeding from the nose the plug can be inserted with the fingers, and flo needle is required. An icv-cokl pad placed at the nape of the neck and another On the bridge of the nose will often effect A cure.