Treatment of lacerated wounds
In lacerated wounds care should be taken to remove any foreign body that may be in the wound, by washing with a warm antiseptic, such as boric-acid solution, or using sterile forceps, tweezers or pliers to remove the object. A sterile dressing should be applied after the wound is clean, this dressing to be kept wet by additions of the hot antiseptic solu¬tion. If the wound is of the scalp and a flap of scalp hangs loose, this should be washed and placed in position, then a head bandage applied. Where parts are crushed or mangled, as in railroad and machinery accidents, elevation may not be suffi¬cient to stop the hemorrhage, so the use of a tourniquet may be necessary.
The clothing should be cut away around the wound, then treatment given for the shock that will usually have been sus¬tained (see Shocks page 3052), the parts washed with a mild antiseptic solution, covered with some clean oil or vaseline, the several parts replaced as well as they can be, then secured, along with the neighboring joints, to a split. Parts partially severed should be adjusted to position after cleansing, for with the physician’s help they may be saved. If shock has de¬veloped the patient should be treated where he is, or after re¬moval to a safe and comfortable place, until he has recovered. No effort should be made to undress or to attempt to bathe the patient.