□ FRACTURE OF THE BONES OF THE FOOT
This is due to direct crushing by heavy objects. The condition is diagnosed by the following features.
Continue reading First-Aid: Fracture of Bones of the Foot, Injuries of the Joints and Sprains
First-Aid: Emergency Medical Aid from Your Kitchen Shelf and Garden for Pain/flatulence/indigestion, etc., Nausea and Vomitnig
This section is particularly useful for the person at home who may not have a handy first-aid kit and wants to give immediate succor and help to a person in distress, since medical aid is not always within reach. To begin with the basic. The first requirement is clean water, whether for drinking, cooking or other domestic purposes. In villages, and often in city homes too, the water we get is not always clean or chlorinated, or at times is downright muddy. The age-old remedy for purifying water was to collect it in a clean container, filtering it through a muslin cloth. The container was often and still is of a particular shape — the ghara.
First-Aid: Foreign Bodies in the Skin, Ear, Eye and in the Nose
FOREIGN BODIES IN THE SKIN
Small foreign bodies like shards of glass and wood splinters usually cause small puncture wounds with little or no bleeding. But they are quite painful. Hence they have to be removed early. If a portion of the foreign body is found to be sticking out of the skin, it can be grasped with nails or a small forceps and pulled out. If it is deeply embedded in a wound, attempts at its removal may drive it deeper into the tissues. Such patients should be sent to a doctor. Foreign bodies are often contaminated with dirt and can cause infections including tetanus.
Continue reading First-Aid: Foreign Bodies in the Skin, Ear, Eye and in the Nose
First-Aid: Emergency Medical Aid from Your Kitchen Shelf and Garden for Arthritis, Painful Swelling of Joints and Wounds
□ ARTHRITIS
• Fresh celery : A cup of juice a day is good for arthritis. Celery soups and salads also have a beneficial effect.
• Foods : Celery, parsley, bitter gourd, beetroot, asparagus, yeast, wheat germs.
• Fruits : Banana, pecan, grapes, raisins, cherry, strawberry, guava and musk melon.
First-Aid: Emergency Medical Aid from Your Kitchen Shelf and Garden for Ulcers in the Mouth, Fever, Coughs, Colds, Sore Throat, Asthma and Bronchitis
□ ULCERS IN THE MOUTH
• Local application of glycerine on ulcers causes intense salivation and gives relief from pain.
• Gargles with alum water (2-3 grams to a cup of water) removes soreness.
• Catechu or katha powder found in Indian homes as an ingredient for paan or betel leaf preparation — a paste made with a few drops of water and applied locally soothes the ulcer.
• If there is a banyan tree in your garden, grind a little piece of the bark with few drops of water or break a leaf/stem and apply a drop of the sap and then gargle with fresh water. It relieves the pain.
First-Aid: Emergency Medical Aid from Your Kitchen Shelf and Garden for Worm Infestations, Headache, Toothache and Dental Problems
□ WORM INFESTATIONS
When a person has worms, the doctor prescribe a deworming dose. However, in practice it is often seen that a child/person does not get rid of worm infestations with one deworming dose. Repeated doses have their own hazards.
First-Aid: Emergency Medical Aid from Your Kitchen Shelf and Garden for Scabies, Jaundice and Urinary Complaints
SCABIES
• If there is a localized scabies infection, dry and powder neem leaves. Half a teaspoon of this powder can be taken as a morning drink in a glass of hot water with sugar added to taste for ten days.
• A decoction made from neem leaves, neem tree bark can be used to wash the effected area.
• A paste of neem leaves with an equal amount of turmeric powder mixed with a little mustard oil can be applied over the area. Leave it for 45 minutes to an hour. Wash the area. Continue the process for a week.
• Alternatively, the bark of the neem tree dried and burnt to make washes, mixed with a little coconut oil to make paste and applied on the affected area after a bath, morning and evening, gets rid of the condition.
First-Aid: Emergency Medical Aid from Your Kitchen Shelf and Garden for Boils, Minor Burns and Scalds, Sunburn and Conjectivitis and Watering of Eyes
□ BOILS
Betel leaf
Gently warm a betel leaf over a flame, coat it with castor oil on one side. Place it on the boil which has not yet come to a head and bandage lightly. Repeat this every few hours with a fresh leaf. This helps the boil to come to a head and rupture. Once that happens express the collected pus out by putting pressure from the periphery inwards and then apply a clean dressing. The leaf does not stick to the boil and is easy to remove.
First-Aid: Common Occupational Diseases and First-Aid
COMMON OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES DUE TO LEAD
Signs/Symptoms
Lassitude, insomnia, colic, anaemia, lead line, lead palsy with wrist drop, vomiting.
Continue reading First-Aid: Common Occupational Diseases and First-Aid
First-Aid: Handy Herbal Ingredients
□ HANDY HERBAL INGREDIENTS IN THE KITCHEN
• Ajwain, anise, hing, betelnut, black pepper, caraway, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, dill seeds, fenugreek, mustard, nutmeg, poppy.
• Alum, camphor, catechu, honey, isabgol, salt, turmeric, sandalwood, dried ginger, liquorice, tamarind, walnuts.
• Barley, rice, castor oil, mustard oil, linseed oil and til oil.
• Milk, buttermilk, yogurt.