ALPINE ACCIDENTS.

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 64, 13 October 1930, Page 4

ALPINE ACCIDENTS.

USEFUL ADVICE. INTERESTING ADDRESS BY DR. W. P. GORDON. If an accident should happen to one of a party, said Dr. W. P. Gordon, in the course of his address on first-aid to the members of the Mountain Club, it was good policy for the others to sit down and do some hard thinking before taking action, and not to art impulsively. In sending a message for help, it was very important to make it cl«ar and accurate. The message, whenever practicable, should be written, and care should he taken not only to describe carefully the location and type of the accident, but to give some indication of the nature of the injuries and symntoms disclosed by the patient. In the case of a tendency to faint itwas a sound remedy to force the patient's head down between the knees, but in cases of unconsciousness the patient should be placed in a reclining position, with the head slightly lower than the body, and great care should be taken to keep the air passages free. If it waft suspected that an arm or a collarbone was broken and it was advisable to remove outer clothing, the rule was to take the garment from the uninjured arm first, then to let it -slide gently from the injured member. BODILY WARMTH. THe most important thing in mountain accidents was bodily warmth. Two o:- three good blankets and hotwater bottles were of more avail than immediate first-aid or stimulants. There was an excellent medJcal reason for this advice, for it was by maintaining the bodily warmth of an injured person that he was given his chance in the rarified atmosphere of the mountain. He therefore urged first attention should be given to appliances that would promote warmth. Extra clothing alone was not sufficient, and it was a good idea to carry an extra supply of hot water in thermos flasks. There seemed to be a general idea that brandy or other alcoholic stimulant should be forced down the throat of an injured pe"son, but the lecturer proceeded to show that the practice was unwise unless measures were available to keep up the superficial warmth thus engendered. Moreover, stimulants should not be used where there was haemorrhage, or at least until the haemorrhage had been controlled. Hot coffee was an excellent stimulant —better than brandy. Speaking of stimulants and sustenance, Dr. Gordon advisedclimbing parties to carry packets of chocolate and sticks of the ordinary confectioner's barley sugar.

BROKEN BONES. One general principle in the case of broken bones was to so secure the injured limb that the joints both above and below the fracture wore held immovable. The wisdom of this advice was demonstrated, and the doctor went on to speak of the symptoms and treatment of the common mountain affliction, frostbite. A frost-bitten member should never be exposed to direct heat, such as a fre, or placed in hot water. Frostbite was a very insidious thing, and recirculation should never be attempted too quickly. Dry warmth was necessary, and the best advice he could offer was for the affected part to be placed inside one's own clothes, where it could get the natural warmth of the body. Even indoors a frostbitten patient should never be placed near a fire, but the injured part should be wrapped in dry cotton wool or other warm, dry substance, and left alone.