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By W. A. LYNOTT and D. HARRINGTON.

INTRODUCTION.

It is the aim of nearly all thinking men who are interested in mines or mining to get as much first-aid training as can be had, and mining companies and miners are cooperating with the Bureau of Mines in trying to have as many men trained as possible. It is felt, however, that at present many persons who ought to take first-aid training do not, especially those who have only recently come from foreign lands and are not able to read or to speak English.

To meet this want the Bureau of Mines prints this circular, which treats of only the simplest first-aid needs of the miner; it is printed in Italian, Polish, and Slovak, with English translation. The circular aims to show the miner who has not had first-aid training injured man, causing as little pain as possible and at the same time preventing further injury by handling. In most mine accidents a miner is injured at or near the working face where no first-aid supplies are at hand; it is the aim of this book to tell the miner how to use brattice cloth, pieces of board, broken ties, bark off

how to help

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posts, rope, wire, coats, jumpers, etc., as aids in dressing

the wounds of the injured man. A careful study of this circular will also prepare a miner to help the doctor when he dresses the

wounds.

Records of miners' hospitals show that more than half of all miners who are hurt have been caught under falls of rock, coal, or ore, and more than one-fourth have been injured by cars or mine locomotives. Miners are injured also by mishandling powder, and by electricity or machinery, by being overcome by bad air, or by being burned by gas that has been ignited. A study of 6,719 nonfatal injuries to miners shows that out of every 100 injuries about 30 are to the legs, about 8 to the back, about 11 to the feet, about 8 to the arms, about 14 to the hands, about 5 to the shoulders, about 4 to the hip bones, about 6 to the head, and about 4 to the face. Hospital records show that out of every 100 injured men who go to the hospital, about 43

have broken bones, 15 have some part of the body crushed, 11 are badly bruised, and about 10 have open wounds. The remainder have dislocations, strains, burns, and other injuries.

Hence it is seen that in mines the first-aid man must be ready to treat most often the injuries to legs, arms, feet, and back, and to treat less often burns, electric shock, dangerous bleeding, etc. Broken bones are common results of accidents, but only simple firstaid treatment for them is described in this circular; bleeding, shock, burns, and other injuries are briefly discussed and simple first-aid needs are described.

As this circular is written for all miners the word "rock" is used to mean slate, coal, and all kinds of ore as well as ordinary rock.

WHAT TO DO AT ONCE WHEN A FELLOW MINER IS HURT.

Be calm and remain so.

If he is under a fall and you can not move him, go for help. Send for the boss; send for the first-aid team and first-aid supplies; send for the stretcher; see that the doctor is called.

Take charge and give orders until the boss comes.

Find where the man is hurt before trying to move him. If you believe that a bone is broken or there is a wound or that hemorrhage has started, remove the clothing over the part injured to make your examination.

Don't try to pull off clothing; cut or rip clothes if they must be taken off.

If his back is hurt, don't move him until you have help or the doctor

comes.

Always place the injured man on his back, with his head lower than the rest of his body (unless he is bleeding freely about the head); open his collar and loosen his belt.

Always look for bleeding, and if the blood is bright red and coming in spurts, try to stop it at once. (See "General Directions for Caring for Bleeding," pp. 11 to 14.)

Don't give an injured man brandy or whisky or any stimulants while he is bleeding; keep him quiet and warm.

If any bones are broken, put on splints before moving him. If you are in doubt as to whether the bones are broken, always put on splints. (See pp. 14 to 20 for treatment of broken bones.)

If you find that he has no broken bones and is not bleeding or spitting blood, but is very pale and is cold and breathes fast, keep him quiet; lay him on his back, lower his head, cover him with brattice cloth, clothing, blankets, or the like; place safety lamps, if they are used in the mine, under covers near him as an aid in keeping him warm; do not let others crowd around him, but give him plenty

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of air and get the doctor as soon as possible. Don't give him whisky or brandy; if he can swallow, give one teaspoonful of aromatic spirits of ammonia in one-half glass of water, hot coffee, or hot tea in sips.

If a man is burned, rip or cut off any clothing that might rub; if the clothing sticks to the burned skin, do not remove it, but remove the loose clothing by cutting around the piece that sticks; the doctor will remove it later.

If there is an open wound, do not touch it, and do not wash it or pour anything over or into it. If clean gauze can be found near by, cover the wound with it and tie it firmly, but not too tightly. If no clean gauze is at hand, place the injured part in such a position that it will not be soiled and hold it there until first-aid dressing can be obtained. Do not remove an injured man until the proper dressings

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FIGURE 1.-Stretcher made of two drills and two jumpers.

have been applied, unless the man is on a live electric wire or under a fall of rock.

In taking an injured man from the mine, place him carefully on a stretcher and put the stretcher and the man in a mine car; fix the stretcher solidly in the car so that it will not slip; if necessary get in the car and hold the stretcher; or, if the distance is not too great, carry him outside on the stretcher. Keep him warm by covering him with coats and other clothing, blankets, or the like; place safety lamps under covers near him. If no stretcher is at hand, make one out of two drills, two metal tamping bars or two pieces of pipe with two or more coats or jumpers or some brattice cloth or blankets. A stretcher can be quickly made from two drills and two jumpers in

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this way: Two miners button their jumpers, one man takes hold of one end of each drill and stoops over; facing him the other miner takes hold of the bottom edge of the first miner's jumper and pulls it over the first miner's head and down the drills. The other jumper is pulled over the other end of the drills in the same way by the first miner. (See figure 1.)

Always test the stretcher before placing the injured man on it; have some other man lifted on the stretcher to find out whether it is strong enough. In carrying a man on a stretcher take him feet first except when going up a hill. Bring the stretcher to the man; do not carry the man to the stretcher.

If an injured person must be carried out of a mine through narrow working places or passages having sharp turns, the stretcher described would be too long. Under such conditions a short stretcher may be made of drills and jumpers or drills and brattice cloth, and the patient may be carried in a sitting position. However, the patient could not be carried in such a position if he had suffered certain wounds or injuries, such as a wound causing bleeding of an artery in the leg or a badly injured back.

Always be sure to send word to the doctor as soon as possible after a man has been hurt.

EVERY MAN SHOULD HAVE A FIRST-AID PACKET.

Every man who works in or around a mine should have a first-aid metallic packet in his pocket or in his tool box near the working place; he may need it at any time for himself or for his "buddy' (partner), or for some man working near him. Nearly all mine bosses supply such a packet free; it weighs little, takes up little room, and may be the means of saving a life. It contains one triangular bandage and one medium-size bandage compress, both clean, dry, and ready for use. Do not touch the first-aid packet until just before using it, and do not put your hands or anything else on that part of the clean cloth that is to cover the wound.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR CARING FOR WOUNDS.

Take as much care of a small wound as of a large one. Blood poisoning and death are often caused by a very small wound. Prevent them by covering the wound with a bandage compress from a first-aid packet, tying it firmly in place to prevent its slipping and to assist in stopping the bleeding. Then hold the compress in place with a triangular or narrow bandage.

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