First Aid.

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 76

First Aid.

Everybody ought to have surgical training enough to render aid to' tho J injured! in the .case of a stab -or cut in bnfe of, iha limbs. If the blood'- -flows freely,- 'tft !d! d an indication thafc;one or: mote : blood ve^seia haye been .severed. ., If the flowing bloocl is a bright red and -oomeein jets, an artery has been cut. If it is a. .dark red, it comes from a vein, and the -importance of-Jhia fact becomes apparent' when an effort is made to stop the flow. Veins <sarry" the blood to the heart, "the arteries convey itt in the opposite direction, So when a vein is severed pressure should be applied below, the wound ; but in the case of ah artery pressure above or between the wound and the heart is necessary. Sometimes, in" -tha' case of an extensive cut, both arteries ' and! veins may be severed, and 1 then pressure* ought to be applied both above, and below? 1 the wound. More than one man has ibledl to death' with a crowd looking on, simply* because none of the bystanders , inewf enough to istop the flow- of blood until at doctor could arrive. lj A handkerchief Srith! a knot in it, tied around >fa^Umb,i, will - often answer the purpose. EvenTEe pres* sure of a thumb will sometimes hold back! the blood until a surgeon can apply more effective means.