AMBULANCE BADGE

A Scout must know:

The Fireman's Lift.

How to drag an insensible man with ropes.

How to improvise a stretcher.

How to fling a life-line.

The position of main arteries.

How to stop bleeding from vein, artery, internal or external.

How to improvise splints and to diagnose and bind a fractured limb.

How to deal with choking, burning, poison, grit in eye, sprains and bruises, as the examiners may require.

*Generally, the laws of health and sanitation as given in Scouting for Boys, including dangers of smoking, want of ventilation, and lack of cleanliness.

Special Note: In this chapter, it is not intended to deal exhaustively with the subject of "First Aid".

We shall take the points in the order they are laid down for the test.

The Fireman's Lift

Turn the person face downwards and take hold of him close under the armpits. Raise the body as high as possible, bringing the arms down round the waist. Drop on the knees, take hold of one of the wrists and at the same time pass the other arm between the legs. The patient will then rest across the shoulders. The hand that is passed through the legs now grips the patient's hand as shown in the diagram.

How to drag an insensible man with ropes

Tie a bowline round the patient's waist, bring the rope over the patient's head and tie another bowline there. Turn your back to the patient and tie a bowline round your own neck. Crawl out on all fours.

How to improvise stretchers

Stretchers are easily improvised with Scout poles. Turn the sleeves of two coats inside out, pass two poles through the sleeves; button the coats over them. Roll up another jacket to use as a pillow.

A door, gate or shutter, well covered with straw or sacking, also makes a serviceable stretcher.

How to fling a lifeline

Practise throwing the line over a dummy, but first make sure that the end is fastened somewhere. The object is to throw the rope over the person to be rescued. If any object, such as a stone or cane, is fastened to the end of the line, care must be taken that it does not hit the person. If there is a current flowing, put a piece of wood or a life-buoy on the end, and throw it above the person, allowing it to float down to him.

How to stop bleeding from vein, artery, internal or external

For bleeding from the nose: place the patient in a chair, raise the arms above the head. Sponge the forehead and temples with cold water. Apply something cold to the top of the spine, such as a key, a penny, or the back of a watch. Plug the nostrils with cotton wool.

In all cases of bleeding, a Scout should nerve himself to overcome any feeling of faintness or sickness. Many people turn sick or faint at the sight of blood, but a Scout should say to himself, "I won't faint," and the feeling is quickly overcome. Remember: if you are alone with a friend who has seriously hurt himself, that his life may depend on your prompt action. If you give way to a tenderfoot's feelings, your friend might bleed to death.

After the bleeding has stopped, wash the wound with a piece of lint or cotton wool dipped in an antiseptic solution. Condy's fluid, which is a solution of permanganate of potash, is an antiseptic, and also a disinfectant, and is excellent for washing the wound. It is cheap and easy to make, two large tablespoonfuls to a pint of water being sufficient. Wash carefully but see that no blood clots are dissolved or washed off. The clots prevent further bleeding.

After washing, dress the wound with boracic lint. Boracic lint should always be kept in a Scout's ambulance outfit. Failing boracic lint, use ordinary lint or cotton wool soaked in an antiseptic solution. When removing a dressing, don't try to pull it off, as this would restart the bleeding. Bathe it off with a piece of boracic lint, dipped in tepid water.

How to improvise splints and to diagnose and bind a fractured limb

Diagnose, in this instance, means to distinguish between a fractured (that is broken) bone and a sprain or strain.

In the case of a fracture of a limb, the limb is shortened and the power of the limb lost; there is also unnatural movement where none should be. There is pain and swelling at the place of injury; but this is also present in the case of a severe sprain. Another sign of a fracture is "crepitus", that is to say, a grating sensation is felt when the broken ends of the bone are rubbed against each other.

Boy Scouts, however, should never try for crepitus, for, by doing so, they would almost certainly do further injury.

If not quite certain whether the bone is broken or not, no harm can be done by treating the limb for a fracture; that is to say, putting it in splints.

There are two kinds of fracture: simple and compound. The simple fracture is when the bone only is broken. Compound fracture is when in addition there is a flesh wound.

The first thing to do with a compound fracture is to stop the bleeding and dress the wound, then treat as for simple fracture.

With simple fracture, the object of first-aid treatment is to prevent further injury. To do this, it is essential to be very careful with the patient. Splints can be improvised by rolling a newspaper up tightly, or by using pieces of wood, a Scout staff, pieces of bark etc. A splint should be long enough to go beyond the joints both above and below the fracture. One splint should be put on each side of the limb. Something soft, such as folded bandages, cotton wool, neckerchiefs etc., should be placed between the splints and the limb.

Splints are fixed in position as shown in the following diagram

Triangular bandages are the only ones used in first aid. In place of a proper bandage, the Scout neckerchief folded diagonally will serve the purpose. If the neckerchief is used, however, great care must be exercised to see that it does not come in contact with the wound, because the dye from it might cause blood-poisoning.

Choking: Loosen collar. Try to pull out the object with the forefinger, handle of a spoon, or other object. Two or three hard smacks on the back will sometimes dislodge the object. Send for the doctor.

For a bone in the throat, eat doughy bread. If...