Drowning

Attend to the following essential rules: 1. Lose no time.
2. Handle the body gently. 3. Carry the body face downwards, with the
head gently raised, and never hold it up by the feet. 4. Send for
medical assistance immediately, and in the meantime act as follows: 5.
Strip the body; rub it dry, then wrap it in hot blankets, and place it
in a warm bed in a warm room. 6. Cleanse away the froth and mucous from
the nose and mouth. 7. Apply warm bricks, bottles, bags of sand, etc.,
to the arm pits, between the thighs, and to the soles of the feet. 8.
Rub the surface of the body with the hands inclosed in warm, dry
worsted socks. 9. If possible, put the body into a warm bath. 10. To
restore breathing, put the pipe of a common bellows into one nostril,
carefully closing the other, and the mouth; at the same time drawing
downwards, and pushing gently backwards, the upper part of the
windpipe, to allow a more free admission of air; blow the bellows
gently, in order to inflate the lungs, till the breast is raised a
little; then set the mouth and nostrils free, and press gently on the
chest; repeat this until signs of life appear. The body should be
covered from the moment it is placed on the table, except the face, and
all the rubbing carried on under the sheet or blanket. When they can be
obtained, a number of tiles or bricks should be made tolerably hot in
the fire, laid in a row on the table, covered with a blanket, and the
body placed in such a manner on them that their heat may enter the
spine. When the patient revives, apply smelling-salts to the nose, give
warm wine or brandy and water. Cautions.--1. Never rub the body with
salt or spirits. 2. Never roll the body on casks. 3. Continue the
remedies for twelve hours without ceasing.

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