Wartime Disaster

First-aid treatments for injuries that occur in warfare..

3 phases of injury by nuclear explosion

1. Blast Injury = This is produced by the push pull effect of the shock wave from the explosion, which up roots trees, collapse houses, and destroys by mechanical force. The blast produces all conceivable types of traumatic injury.

2. Heat Injury = The heat produced by a nuclear explosion is almost conceivable at the center of the blast. This heat causes the severe burns so typical among victims of nuclear explosion. The amount of light produced at the same time is so great as to cause blindness if the unprotected eyes view the "ball of fire"

3. Nuclear Radiation = Damage by readioactivity is subtle. Rays can penetrate deeply into the tissues and caise severe damage to various organs..

WHAT TO DO

1. Keep the victim at rest as much as possible.

2. With a radiation detecting instrument, measure the amount of contamination that may be present on the victim's clothing, skin and hair. Discard contaminated clothing at the earliest possible moment. Radiation contamination of the skin may be largely removed by thorough washing with soap and water. In some cases it is advisable to shave off all the victim's hair. Failure to decontaminate the victim prolongs and intensifies the damage.

3. As far as possible, the victim should be cared for in a hospital where frequent laboratory tests can be made to determine the degree of his radiation injury and the progress, if any ,being made. This is especially important if the radiation received has been relatively mild and the injury is chiefly to the blood forming tissues.

4. Hospital care includes keeping patient comfortable with sedatives, restoring his body fluid, and maintaining proper chemical balance in his blood.

5. Later hospital care includes blood transfusion and control of infection. Damage to blood forming tissues makes it impossible for the victim to produce his own antibodies to combat infection. Therefore he must kept in an environment as nearly germ free as possible