1331. Compression of the Brain.

In compression of the brain from any cause, such as apoplexy, or a piece of fractured bone pressing on it, there is loss of sensation. If you tickle the feet of the injured person he does not feel it. You cannot arouse him so as to get an answer. The pulse is slow and laboured; the breathing deep, laboured, and _snorting_; the pupil enlarged. Raise the head, loosen strings or tight things, and send for a surgeon. If one cannot be got at once, apply mustard poultices to the feet and thighs, leeches to the temples and hot water to the feet.

1332. Choking.

When a person has a fish bone in the throat, insert the forefinger, press upon the root of the tongue, so as to induce vomiting; if this does not do, let him swallow a _large piece_ of potato or soft bread; and if these fail, give a mustard emetic.

1333. Fainting, Hysterics, &c.

Loosen the garments, bathe the temples with water or eau-de-Cologne; open the window, admit plenty of fresh air, dash cold water on the face, apply hot bricks to the feet, and avoid bustle and excessive sympathy.

1334. Drowning.

Attend to the following _essential rules_:

i. Lose no time.

ii. Handle the body gently.

iii. Carry the body face downwards, with the head gently raised, and never hold it up by the feet.

iv. Send for medical a.s.sistance immediately, and in the meantime act as follows:

v. Strip the body, rub it dry: then wrap it in hot blankets, and place it in a warm bed in a warm room.

vi. Cleanse away the froth and mucus from the nose and mouth.

vii. Apply warm bricks, bottles, bags of sand, &c., to the armpits, between the thighs, and to the soles of the feet.

viii. Rub the surface of the body with the hands enclosed in warm dry worsted socks.

ix. If possible, put the body into a warm bath.

x. To restore breathing, put the pipe of a common bellows into one nostril, carefully closing the other, and the mouth; at the same time drawing downwards, and pushing gently backwards, the upper part of the windpipe, to allow a more free admission of air; blow the bellows gently, in order to inflate the lungs, till the breast be raised a little; then set the mouth and nostrils free, and press gently on the chest: repeat this until signs of life appear. The body should be covered the moment it is placed on the table, except the face, and all the rubbing carried on under the sheet or blanket.

When they can be obtained, a number of tiles or bricks should be made tolerably hot in the fire, laid in a row on the table, covered with a blanket, and the body placed in such a manner on them, that their heat may enter the spine. When the patient revives, apply smelling-salts to the nose, give warm wine or brandy and water.

_Cautions_.

i. Never rub the body with salt or spirits.

ii. Never roll the body on casks,

iii. Continue the remedies for twelve hours without ceasing.

[PURE WATER IS BETTER THAN FOUL WINE.]

1335. Hanging.

Loosen the cord, or whatever it may be by which the person has been suspended. Open the temporal artery or jugular vein, or bleed from the arm; employ electricity, if at hand, and proceed as for drowning, taking the additional precaution to apply eight or ten leeches to the temples.

1336. Apparent Death from Drunkenness.

Raise the head, loosen the clothes, maintain warmth of surface, and give a mustard emetic as soon as the person can swallow.

1337. Apoplexy and Fits Generally.

Raise the head; loosen all tight clothes, strings, &c.; apply cold lotions to the head, which should be shaved; apply leeches to the temples, bleed, and send for a surgeon.

1338. Suffocation from Noxious Gases, &c.

Remove to the fresh air; dash cold vinegar and water in the face, neck, and breast; keep up the warmth of the body; if necessary, apply mustard poultices to the soles of the feet and spine, and try artificial respirations as in drowning, with electricity.

1339. Lightning and Sun Stroke.

Treat the same as apoplexy.

1340. Poisons, General Observations.

The abbreviations used are as follows:--

E., effects or symptoms.

T., treatment.

A., antidotes or counter poisons.

D.A., dangerous antidotes.

1341. Poison.

A poison is a _substance_ which is capable of altering or destroying some or all of the functions necessary to life. When a person is in good health, and is suddenly attacked, after having taken some food or drink, with violent pain, cramp in the stomach, feeling of sickness or nausea, vomiting, convulsive twitchings, and a sense of suffocation; or if he be seized, under the same circ.u.mstances, with giddiness, delirium, or unusual sleepiness, then it may be supposed that he has been poisoned.

1342. Cla.s.ses of Poisons.

Poisons have been divided into four cla.s.ses:

i. Those causing local symptoms.

ii. Those producing spasmodic symptoms.

iii. Narcotic or sleepy symptoms; and iv. Paralytic symptoms.