American Woman's Home: Or, Principles of Domestic Science;: Being a Guide to the Formation and Maintenance of Economical, Healthful, Beautiful, and Christian HomesStowe, Harriet Beecher
Religion
American Woman's Home: Or, Principles of Domestic Science;: Being a Guide to the Formation and Maintenance of Economical, Healthful, Beautiful, and Christian Homes
Stowe, Harriet Beecher
Home economics
Bathe bad bruises in hot water. Arnica water hastens a cure, but is
injurious and weakening to the parts when used too long and too freely.
A sprain is relieved from the first pains by hot fomentations, or the
application of very hot bandages, but entire rest is the chief permanent
remedy. The more the limb is used, especially at first, the longer the
time required for the small broken fibres to knit together. The sprained
leg should be kept in a horizontal position. When a leg is broken, tie
it to the other leg, to keep it still till a surgeon comes. Tie a
broken arm to a piece of thin wood, to keep it still till set.
In the case of bad burns that take off the skin, creosote water is the
best remedy. If this is not at hand, wood-soot (not coal) pounded,
sifted, and mixed with lard is nearly as good, as such soot contains
creosote. When a dressing is put on, do not remove it till a skin is
formed under it. If nothing else is at hand for a bad burn, sprinkle
flour over the place where the skin is off and then let it remain,
protected by a bandage. The chief aim is to keep the part without skin
from the air.
In case of drowning, the aim should be to clear the throat, mouth and
nostrils, and then produce the natural action of the lungs in breathing
as soon as possible, at the same time removing wet clothes and applying
warmth and friction to the skin, especially the hands and feet, to
start the circulation. The best mode of cleansing the throat and month
of choking water is to lay the person on the face, and raise the head
a little, clearing the mouth and nostrils with the finger, and then
apply hartshorn or camphor to the nose. This is safer and surer than
a common mode of lifting the body by the feet, or rolling on a barrel
to empty out the water.
To start the action of the lungs, first lay the person on the face and
press the back along the spine to expel all air from the lungs. Then
turn the body nearly, but not quite over on to the back, thus opening
the chest so that the air will rush in if the mouth is kept open. Then
turn the body to the face again and expel the air, and then again
nearly over on to the back; and so continue for a long time. Friction,
dry and warm clothing, and warm applications should be used in
connection with this process. This is a much better mode than using
bellows, which sometimes will close the opening to the windpipe. The
above is the mode recommended by Dr. Marshall Hall, and is approved
by the best medical authorities.
Certain articles are often kept in the house for cooking or medical
purposes, and sometimes by mistake are taken in quantities that are
poisonous.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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