LAY PATIENT ON BACK, SEND FOR DOCTOR. FIRST AID ADVICE BY THE ORDER OF ST. JOHN, 1946.

Douglas Fairbanks, Knight of the Order, 1958

I’ve just come across a POCKET GUIDE TO FIRST AID published by the Grand Priory of the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in 1946. No, I did not make that up.

Here is some useful advice from that remarkable book.

• Apoplexy: Lay patient on back. Send for doctor.
• Drowning: Lay patient in prone position. Send for doctor as soon as possible.
• Nose bleed: Place patient in sitting position head thrown back…Keep mouth open, no blowing of nose.
• Shock: A serious condition which frequently follows severe accidents…Lay on back, loosen clothing, keep warm.
• Frozen person: There must be no sudden application of heat to a frozen person…Thawing should be carried out in cool room with open window.

Okay, but do I lay the frozen person on the back or in the prone position?

• Gas Poisoning: Remove from poison air.
• Hysteria: Avoid sympathy, speak firmly.
• Hanging: Do not wait for police…cut rope.

Okay, I’ll say it again: No, I didn’t make that up. It’s all in the book, which was published in Canada, by the way, and is therefore bilingual. En Français:

Apoplexie: Couchez le malade sur le dos. Envoyez cherche le médicin…