American Red Cross Text-Book on Home Hygiene and Care of the SickAmerican National Red Cross
Science
American Red Cross Text-Book on Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick
American National Red Cross
Home nursing; Hygiene; Nurses; Nursing
COLIC is a sharp, intermittent pain in the abdominal region; it is
caused in many instances by indigestion or chilling. The following
remedies may relieve it: a hot water bag, an emetic, as salt or mustard
in luke-warm water, a Seidlitz powder or other saline cathartic, soda
mints, or a teaspoonful of syrup of ginger in hot water. Unless it feels
sore or tender, the abdomen may be rubbed up, on the right side, across,
just below the waist, and down, on the left side. Babies may be given a
few teaspoonfuls of warm water, or an enema of salt and water.
Colic may be serious. The doctor should be summoned at once if the
patient seems exhausted, if the pain is severe, if pain is increased
rather than relieved by pressure, if the abdomen feels sore, especially
on the right side, or if sharp abdominal pain is accompanied by fever,
vomiting, and stubborn constipation. If the above-mentioned symptoms are
present, no food, drink, or medicine should be given until the doctor
comes.
CONDITIONS IN WHICH THE EYES OR EARS ARE AFFECTED
STYES generally accompany eyestrain or poor general health. The cause
should be found and treated; and especial attention should be given to
correcting eyestrain, indigestion, and constipation. Hot applications
may be used, but if pus gathers, the stye should be treated by a
physician.
FOREIGN BODIES IN THE EYE may sometimes be removed by blowing the nose
violently, by yawning several times, or by drawing the upper lid down
over the lower. The eye should not be rubbed. If it proves impossible to
dislodge the object by these methods or by others similar, the patient's
eyelid should be turned back in the following way: Let the patient sit
with his head back in a low chair placed in a good light, and stand
behind him holding his head between your side and upper arm. In this
position the patient's head is held firmly while both of the operator's
hands are free. Next draw down the lower lid, and remove the object, if
visible, on the corner of a clean handkerchief. To turn back the upper
lid, grasp the eyelashes firmly, draw the lid down, out, and then up
over a match or pencil placed across the middle line of the lid and held
in your other hand. Then wipe the object carefully away if it is
visible.
Irritation that persists after the foreign body has been removed may be
relieved by a cold compress continued for an hour or more, or by a drop
or two of castor oil placed under the lid. If attempts to remove the
foreign body prove unsuccessful, if the injury is severe, or if
irritation continues after several hours, apply a cold compress, bandage
it firmly so that the eyeball is kept at rest, and seek the aid of a
physician.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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