Medical Techniques
SUTURING is not the same as as stitching. Sutures are not done by a series of continuous in/out of the skin motions with the needle. Each suture is done separately and the thread knotted and cut between each. Sewing a wound closed in one single thread means that if one suture pops, the whole thing unravels...suture deep wounds and tendons with strong stitches followed by mattress stitches to brace the incision line on the surface layer of skin.
Stitching Minor Wounds wounds with herringbone stitches and a finer gut.. making small, even stitches to make a smooth line. Keep stitches closer together.. pulling thread tightly .. tying off at the end. You will use stiching 90 percent of the time as opposed to suturing. below is procedure for doing your stiching and/or suturing.
**If the wound is over a body area that will bend a lot, then after done stitching, add some mattress stitches...to brace the incision line.
1) wash the wound thoroughly with sterile water
2) apply green paga mixture as an anesthetic/disinfectant
3) slaves should receive permission to pull free any knives, quivas or arrows remaining in the wound; careful to check if anything is embedded near major blood vessels; use a soft cloth for pressure if bleeding continues; use the scalpels and tweezers, sterilized in a flame for a few seconds to ensure there are no smaller objects left in any wounds
4) smooth numbing salve to the wound edges
5) Begin to Stitch and/or suture the wound making sure the wound is being drawning closed with tight fine stiching
6) sprinkle green antiseptic healing powder, layer wound with healing salves
7) wrap with fresh bandages and a soft pad for deep wounds.. and leaving surface wounds either uncovered or wrapped in a light gauze
Now broken bones need to be resetted, splinted and casted. Mind you this is Gor and we must handle these matters in Gorean fashion. Now with setting a broken bone a Free needs to be involved in this as the procedure is very very painful. So do not attempt this on your own. The best thing you can do in this situation is get the P/patient in a recline or lying down position isolate the injury offering ice to ease swelling and constrict blood flow. Willow Bark is very very advisable. Now there are several types of breaks.
A fracture is a broken bone. A fracture may occur with or without displacement of the two parts of the broken bone (according to whether the two parts remain in their normal position or not). In some cases, a fracture involving bone breaking anf movement may result in an open wound where the bone may be exposed. This type of fracture is called an compound fracture. Even if you cannot see the bone, if the skin is broken, the injury must be treated as an open fracture. Then you have you basic clean fracture where the bone doesnt break the skin but is broke nonetheless and can usually be felt. Last there are hairline fractures which are hard to detect but aggrivating. A dislocation occurs when a bone moves partway or fully out of its joint. A sprain occurs when the tissues in a joint are stretched beyond their normal range or torn (a very serious injury). A mild sprain is generally known as a strain.
A fracture, dislocation or sprain may present one or more of the following signs:
intense, persistent pain difficulty or inability to move swelling around the injury site deformation or shortening of the injured limb compared to the uninjured one
If you see these signs, always treat the injury as a fracture.
Now for broken bones, casts need to be applied to stabilize the limb or part of of body broken. Soak the bosk leather in hot water to soften while setting broken bone/s have ready leather ties for lacing through the pre-set holes in either end of the leather? wrap the body part/limb to be in the cast with several layers of soft rep cloth for padding first as the leather dries.. it does get quit stiff and hard and could quite easily cause sores where it abrades the skin. brace the broken bone/limb.. then carefully wrap the now soft wet leather cast around the arm/leg.. lace the thong through the holes.. draw tight.. but NOT too tight because as the leather dries.. it will shrink and tighten on its own.
to stop bleeding as quickly as possible by applying direct pressure after sprnkling black pepper atop the wound. When the pressure method works, the bleeding is stopped. This does not mean that absolutely no more blood will escape.
Without loosing a second, as soon as you coate the wound with black pepper. place hand directly on the wound with your fingers or the palm of your hand, or, if available and preferably, with a cloth, in such a way as to apply full pressure on the wound which is bleeding. Place a pressure dressing on the wound (Piling cloth and compresses to the wound and securing with a bandage) and knot the bandages securely to maintain pressure. Even if the dressing is soaked with blood, leave it in place so that you don't disturb clot formation. Instead of taking it off, choose to apply another dressing on top of the first, or to apply force with the palm of your hand to increase pressure on the bleeding wound. Avoid over tightening: blood must be able to circulate in the limb. If the fingertips or toes are cold, numb or turning white or bluish, the bandage is cutting off circulation. In such a case, loosen it somewhat. If the wound is on an arm or a leg, elevate limb to reduce blood flow.
if artery is pumping bright red blood at the same rate of the heartbeat, it will need stitching with a very fine curved needle and fine gut-thread wash the wound in sterile water only and NEVER paga heat the fire-stick or a quiva in a flame until it glows white (also known as the * cauterizing iron; brought by black ships from Earth; allowed by the PKs) prepare the P/patient because this is very painful press the heated stick to the wound quickly and count for five seconds remove the stick and make sure the wound is sealed thoroughly apply a thick layer of dried blue short grass salve and healing herbs wrap with fresh, sterile bandages tubers grown in the falls are used to make packs to stop external bleeding by drying, crushing, then mixing them with water to form the pack blood transfusion (see quote); phlebotomy, or drawing blood, is mentioned in Captive of Gor page 93-5 and Fighting Slave of Gor
Any serious injury to the body, whether a burn or an infection, may result in shock in the the victim. But shock is much more likely to occur with internal bleeding or heavy external bleeding
Shock is a condition in which the blood supply to vital organs is drastically reduced. If the state of shock lasts long, it can result in impaired function of said organs. The aim of treatment is to reestablish adequate circulation. For the first aider, this means controlling bleeding and facilitating the return of blood to lower limbs.
common symptoms include - pale, sweaty, or clammy skin, drop in blood pressure and elevated pulse rate, rapid, shallow respirations, vomiting, chills anxiety
lay the casualty down in a comfortable position, head flat (no pillow), and try to reassure him. Raise feet about a foot. This makes blood return more easily to the heart from the legs. Loosen clothing. Cover with a fur to prevent loss of body heat. Monitor breathing and pulse closely. Keep hovering crowd away, victim needs air, peace and quiet. turn P/patient to the side if vomiting occurs, keeping feet elevated. CAUTION: DO NOT give anything to eat or drink, even if he asks for it
