The doctor at home and nurse's guidebook / edited by George Black.

Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The doctor at home and nurse's guidebook / edited by George Black. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    BITES AND STINGS the after-birth remaining in the womb. Frequently, indeed, the after-birth comes away a short time after the child is born, the same pain that brings about the expulsion of the latter, giving rise to the loosen- ing of the former, so that on the recurrence of the pains after a short period of rest it is frequently expelled. Sometimes, also, the same pain which caused the birth of the child expels the after-birth, which follows upon the infant’s heels. Should it not come away by the normal contractions of the womb, no attempt is to be made to remove it. The hand of the attend- ant, which has been grasping the womb, must not be relaxed, but should be kept there incessantly until the arrival of the medical man. This pressure by the hand over the lower part of the belly upon the womb is a great safeguard against the occurrence of flooding, and frequently will be found of assist- ance in causing the expulsion of the after-birth. Care must be taken. In removing the child from the bed, that in lifting it a sufficient hold is obtained. It sometimes happens that by the careless manner in which children are lifted they fall, and are seriously bruised and injured. The way in which a child can be best lifted is by tak- ing the back of his neck between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, and allowing the but- tocks to rest upon the palm of the left. In this manner the child may be lifted with perfect security and placed in the receiver. [See also Child, Treatment of, after Birth.) BITES AND STINGS The bite of certain insects and reptiles, and the sting of others, as well as the sting from certain plants, are punctured wounds, with the addition of a poison introduced into the wound. The latter circum- stance accounts for the succeeding inflammation being so dispropor- tionate to the wound and, in certain irritable constitutions, running high and requiring constitutional treat- ment. In all cases of sting or bite, it is a good plan to suck the part perseveringly, whenever it can be done, by which means the absorp- tion of the poison into the circula- tion is suspended or prevented, and the warmth and moisture thus applied act as a fomentation to the part. It is a fact pretty generally known, that no mischief ever ensues from the poison thus entering the stomach of the person who sucks the wound, not even the poison of the viper, which is the most virulent of British animal poisons, or that of the rattlesnake of other climes. The lips, however, should be per- fectly free from any bruise, cracks, cut, or scratch. Ammonia and dabbing with the blue-bag are also efficacious, the former especially for the bite of gnats and mosquitoes. The sting or bite frequently pro- duces at the spot a wheal, which in appearance and in the symp- toms which attend it closely resembles nettle-rash, differing only in being a local trouble. At the summit of such swellings the puncture made by the insect may usually be observed. Trifling con- stitutional disturbances, with a little transient fever, may co-exist, especi- ally in children. This, as a rule, speedily subsides, along with the local difficulty. Many persons once inconvenienced by such irritation are free from it for the season, the subsequent attacks of mosquitoes and so on resulting in much less dis- tressing consequences thenceforth. About the eyelids and in persons of
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