The Woman's Voice Clinic: First Aid and Child Care

Q — Are there circumstances in which someone who knows the rules of first aid can save a life, and when is that?

A — Yes. One who knows the rules of first aid can save another person's life in cases of poisoning, stoppage of breathing, and bleeding following a sudden accident.

Q — How can parents acquaint themselves with first-aid knowledge?

A — Look for a good book on first aid and keep it in your house within reach of your hand; read it and understand it, and accustom yourself to turning back to it quickly in time of need.

Q — How do we treat simple wounds?

A — Let the wound stay a little while under clean running water, then paint it with a mild skin antiseptic; a 2% solution of tincture of iodine is a good antiseptic and serves the purpose.

Renew the bottle of tincture of iodine every month, for keeping it a long while in the house increases its concentration, and it may cause burns...

And after you have put the antiseptic on the skin, wrap the wound in a clean bandage.

Q — How do we treat deep wounds in the arm or the leg?

A — Bind the leg or the arm with a clean cloth, and watch the bleeding: if it comes out of the cut in spurts, this means an artery has been severed. Try then to find the place of this artery in a region above the wound, press upon it, and tie it firmly until the bleeding stops flowing. And leave the bandage so for a period of time.

Q — How do we treat simple burns?

A — Do not remove the blisters over the burn. Put the limb affected by the burn under cold water so that the pain may subside.

If the wound is small, put over it a mixture of bicarbonate of soda with water. And a special remedy for burns should be kept in the household medicine chest.

The most dangerous regions are the face, and especially the eye, and the doctor must be consulted the moment the accident occurs.

But if the burn is serious and extensive, the doctor must be fetched as fast as possible; in the meantime the burn is anointed with salve with the utmost gentleness, without scratching the burned skin, and it must be covered with a clean towel... Keep the injured person lying down, and warm, and beware of his being seized by a fit in which he loses consciousness... for these violent fits may occur with large burns.

Q — And chemical burns?

A — Treat them with cold sterilized water, and wash away as much of the substance causing the burn as you can.

Q — And how do we treat sunburn?

A — 50% vinegar and 50 water is the best mixture for treating sunburn on the back and arms; only take care that none of it reaches the eyes...

Q — I have a child one month old, and I have noticed at the top of his head a certain spot where whoever touches it with his fingertips feels that nothing protects the brain but the outer skin. How troubled and frightened I am, during the child's bath, lest I press on this soft spot and hurt him! What is your advice to me in this matter?

A — There is no cause whatever for your distress and fear, Madam. In the head of every newborn child there are two soft spots, not merely one; and all you need do is handle him gently until the bones of the skull knit together and these gaps close up of their own accord.

Q — Do you approve of a timetable for all the child's activities — food, sleep, play, etc.? And how far must one hold to this timetable?

A — Modern medicine recommends this timetable; there is no disputing that. But there is a newer idea, which is that the child should be given absolute freedom to do as he pleases. If his mealtime comes and he refuses to eat, he must not be pressed at all; rather let the food be taken away until it appears from the child's movements that he is hungry and asking for his food. For nothing is more harmful than for the child to eat when he is not hungry, emptying new food into his stomach at a time when the first food is not yet fully digested.

Q — And if the child cries out and keeps on crying, outside of mealtimes, what should we do for him?

A — Do not leave your child to cry for long. Go to his bed and look for the cause of his crying: you may find him uncomfortable in the way he is lying, or in pain from a pin that pricks him or a band that binds him too tightly...

And if you find no cause for his crying, there is no harm in caressing him and petting him with a few phrases which, though he does not understand their meaning, work their good effect upon his nerves, so that he is soothed by them and sleeps... And do not be afraid of doing this — you are in the right, says modern medicine!