U. S, BUREAU OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY 
FIRST AID FOR BATTLE CASUALTIES  FIRST AID INSTRUCTIONS 
Every sailor must know first aid. At isolated stations or 
during battle you may be faced with the responsibility of sav- 
ing your own or a shipmate’s life. Medical officers and bos- 
pital corpsmen will help you to learn first aid, but it is your 
duty to be prepared. 
FUNDAMENTALS OF FIRST AID 
Follow This Routine in Every Case 
(Speed is essential in treating the first two emergencies.) 
1. Look for rapid (arterial) bleeding. If it is present, con- 
trol it. 
2, If breathing has stopped due to apparent drowning, 
electric shock, or suffocation, start artificial respiration. 
Then 
3. Examine the injured man to determine the nature and 
extent of his injuries. 
4. If the injuries are minor, have him return to his battle 
station until the all-clear is sounded. 
6. If there are severe injuries, keep the man lying down, 
warmly covered. Give morphine for pain. Dress wounds, 
treat burns, splint fractures as required. Move him carefully 
to the sick bay or battle dressing station. Any wounded man 
may have sips of water if he asks for it. 
EXAMINATION OF AN INJURED MAN 
Systematic examination prevents overlooking serious injuries 
and gives you the information necessary to proceed with first- 
aid treatment. 
Move the injured man no more than absolutely necessary 
and keep him lying down until your examination is complete. 
WOUNDS AND BURNS 
Remove or look beneath the clothing so you can see his 
whole body. 
623923°—45 FRACTURES 
SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS OF A FRACTURE 
1. The Head.—Headache; dizziness; unconsciousness; bruises 
and cuts on the head; bleeding from the nose, ears, or mouth. 
2. Arms and Legs.—Deformed position; pain or inability to 
use the limb; a localized spot very tender to pressure. 
3. Neck and Back.—Pain in the neck or back; a spot on the 
spine tender to pressure; paralysis of arms or legs. Feel along 
the whole spine from the neck to the pelvis, lifting him gently 
with the finger tips. 
4. Collar Bones.—Tenderness to pressure over the bone and 
pain on attempted use of the shoulder. 
6. Ribs.—Pain on taking a deep breath or coughing, and 
tenderness to pressure. 
6. Pelvis.—Pressure about the hips causes pain 
MORPHINE 
DO use it to stop pain and prevent shock. 
DO use it for severe injuries or burns. 
DON’T give it to a man with minor injuries. 
DON’T give it to an unconscious man. 
Figure 1.—Assembly and manner of opening the morphine syrette. 
2 Figtjee 2.— Correct method of using morphine syrette. 
How to Give a Morphine Syrette. 
1. Paint iodine or other antiseptic on an uninjured skin area 
The outer side of the arm or thigh are the best places. 
2. Grasp the tube of the syrette at its neck with your finger 
tips. Remove the shield. Hold the wire by the loop, push it 
through the needle to break the seal, then discard the wire. 
3. Force the needle through the skin into the flesh beneath, 
4. Squeeze out the contents of the syrette. 
5. Withdraw the needle and discard it. 
6. Note the time of injection on a tag and tie it to the injured 
man’s identification disk. 
7. If the first dose does not ease the pain within an hour, 
give a second one. Usually one dose will last 3 or 4 hoax’s 
3 Figure 3.—The collar drag. 
Figure 4—The one-man carry. TRANSPORTATION OF AN INJURED MAN 
Learn These Methods: 
1. The Stokes wire stretcher or army litter—the safest 
transportation methods. 
2. The blanket-lift and carry—the next best method. 
3. The collar or blanket drag—use if no help is available. 
4. The one man lift and carry—use only when absolutely 
necessary. 
CONTROL OF BLEEDING 
1. Pressure over the wound.—Nature stops bleeding from small 
cuts and wounds by clotting the blood. A pressure dressing on a 
wound slows bleeding and allows the blood to clot. Always try 
to control bleeding by this method. If bandage has been put on 
tightly, remember to loosen it every 30 minutes. 
2. Pressure 'points and tourniquets. Because the blood in an 
artery is under direct pressure from the heart, it will spurt or well 
out in time with the heart beat if the artery is cut or tom. The 
loss of blood is fatal unless stopped quickly. Arterial bleeding 
can be stopped by applying pressure with the hand at places 
called pressure points. Learn to feel the artery at these points so 
that you can apply hand pressure there to stop arterial bleeding. 
After you have stopped bleeding from an arm or leg by hand 
pressure, apply a tourniquet to maintain the pressure. Apply the 
tourniquet as high as possible on the arm or leg over clothing 
pulled free of wrinkles. 
A rubber tourniquet is applied by stretching it and wrapping it 
twice around the arm or leg. Secure it by tucking the free end 
beneath one of the turns. 
A woven tourniquet, neckerchief, or a strip of cloth is applied 
by tying it loosely around the limb and twisting it with a stick or 
knife slowly until the bleeding stops. 
Tag each tourniquet case. Apply a firm dressing to the wound. 
Release the tourniquet every half hour; reapply it only if rapid 
bleeding begins again. ■-.-»T«rnr>fvr3l 
-facial 
■Carol id 
Subclavian' 
Humerus »■ 
Biceps - 
■muscle 
Pressure 
area - ■ 
Femoral 
Figure 6.—Pressure points and application of tourniquets. 
6 MAIN PRESSURE POINTS 
Bleeding from; 
Arm or hand Inner side of the arm halfway be- 
tween the shoulder and elbow. 
Thigh, leg, or foot In the groin at the skin crease. 
Shoulder In the hollow just above the inner 
end of the collar bone. 
Head or neck Beside the windpipe. 
Face wounds The edge of the jaw bone. 
Scalp wounds Just in front of the ear. 
Pressure point location 
TaHiporal- 
Facial- 
Carotid- 
Stai'rtO-Qsido 
Mastoid. Hustle 
Subclavian- 
Figure 6.—Pressure points, head and neck. 
7 DRESSING THE WOUND 
1. Sprinkle the contents of a packet of Sulfa powder into each 
wound. Don’t use more than two packets on one person even 
if he has multiple wounds. Don’t use anything else in or around 
the wound. 
2. Apply a sterile dressing over the wound. Bandage it 
snugly if bleeding needs to be stopped. 
3. Use Sulfa tablets by mouth as directed on the package. 
The procedure for dressing the wound will vary with the 
location of the wound. 
1. Head wounds are often serious as the skull may be frac- 
tured. Keep such cases lying down. Use Sulfa powder and 
apply a dressing lightly. Give no morphine unless there is 
severe pain. 
2. Chest wounds are always serious. Plug the wound with 
gauze and seal with adhesive tape to keep the air from being 
sucked in. Give morphine to every case. 
3. Abdominal wounds are always serious. Use Sulfa powder 
and apply a large sterile dressing lightly. Give morphine. 
Keep the patient lying down and warmly covered. 
BOMB BLAST 
High Explosives (Shell, Grenade, Torpedo, Land Mine, Aerial 
Bomb) Produce: 
1. Wounds—from the steel fragments and secondary missiles. 
2. Bums—from the blinding flash of the explosion. 
3. Internal injuries—from the blast of air which may strike a 
very severe blow and yet leave no external mark. 
4. Fractures, bruises, etc.—from falling debris. 
Treatment of Bomb Blast Injuries. 
1. Keep the victim lying down. 
2. Examine him carefully. 
3. Give him morphine if he is conscious. 
4. Dress any wounds; treat burns; splint fractures. 
5. Transport him to a dressing station by stretcher or litter. TREATMENT OF SEVERE BURNS 
If a medical officer is immediately available, get the victim to 
him at once by stretcher. 
If medical aid is not available: 
1. Make the victim lie down. 
2. Cover him warmly. 
3. Give morphine. 
4. Remove clothing carefully from the burned area. 
5. Apply ‘‘burn jelly” thickly over the burn and cover it 
lightly with a sterile dressing. 
6. Transport him by stretcher to the dressing station. 
TREATMENT OF FRACTURES 
If you suspect that there is a fracture, treat the injury as though 
i 'ou are sure it is a fracture. Keep the victim lying down until 
your examination is complete. 
1. Examine carefully.—Strong indications of a fracture are: 
Inability to use an arm or leg. 
Deformed position. 
Pain and localized tenderness to touch. 
Don’t overlook a fractured skull or broken back. 
2. Morphine.—Give morphine to every fracture case in which 
there is severe pain. Don’t give it to unconscious persons or to 
those with minor injuries. 
3. Wounds.—A compound fracture is one in which there is a 
skin wound connecting with the fracture. Sprinkle Sulfa powder 
in the wound and apply a dressing carefully before splinting the 
fractured bone. 
4. Splints.—“Splint them where they lie.” Straighten a 
broken arm or leg out carefully and slowly before applying a 
splint. Be sure the splint is long enough so that it extends 
beyond the ends of the broken bone. 
9 Figure 7—Thomas splint, and'diagrams showing fractures of thigh and leg bones 
with splint applied, and manner of applying “traction hitch” extension. 
10 A broken arm is more comfortable if splinted with the elbow 
bent. Practice applying wooden and wire splints to the arm. 
Learn to use a sling. 
Figure 8.—Arm splint (wire). 
A broken leg or thigh is best splinted in the Thomas ring 
splint (or Keller-Biake modification). For traction on the foot 
when using these splints, a cloth strip is applied as follows: 
1. Place the center of the strip under the center of the foot 
like a stirrup. 
2. Cross the two ends over the instep. 
3. Pass both ends back and around behind the foot, crossing 
above the heel. 
4. Pass each end forward and slip the ends under the first 
stirrup loop. 
11 5. Tie the ends of the cloth around the end of the splint, pull- 
ing out all slack and tying snugly with a square knot. 
This traction hitch must be put on smoothly, avoiding wrinkles. 
Traction is increased by twisting a stick in the cloth strips. 
Substitute splints are a rifle, pillow and sides, wire, tying the 
legs together, etc. 
A broken ankle is best splinted with the wire roll or the pillow 
and sides splint. 
A fractured skull, spine, or pelvis cannot be splinted. Use 
the three-man lift to get the victim into a stretcher. Support 
the head, back, pelvis, and legs, keeping all of them in a straight 
line during the lift and during transportation to the dressing 
station or the sick bay. 
ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION 
Where breathing has stopped because of apparent drowning, 
asphyxiation, or electric shock, artificial respiration must be 
started immediately. The best way to restore breathing is 
the Schaefer prone pressure method of artificial respiration. 
Figure 9. 
1. Roll the patient onto his belly, his head a little lower 
than his body, if possible. 
2. Cushion his head on his forearm, open his mouth, pull 
his tongue forward, remove any obstructions so that 
air can pass freely. 
12 Figure 10. 
3. Kneel astride one of his legs in a position from which 
you can easily reach the base of his ribs and also see 
his face, 
Figure 11. 
4. As you lean forward, keep your elbows stiff. 
5. Keep your fingers together and the whole hand in 
contact with the lower ribs as you press down. 
13 Figure 12. 
6. Let the weight of your body rest on your hands. 
7. When your shoulders are directly above the heel of 
your hands, start your backward swing» 
Figure 13. 
S. On your backward swing, let your arms drop so that 
they can rest between strokes» 
14 Repeat this action in a regular rhythm about 12 to 15 times 
a minute. The purpose is to force the air steadily in and out 
of the patient’s lungs. 
The hand pressure does two things: It compresses the lower 
ribs and it also exerts pressure on the abdomen, with the result 
that the diaphragm is pushed up. The combined action of 
the ribs and the diaphragm forces the air out of the lungs. As 
the hand pressure is released, the chest, due to its natural resil- 
iency, expands, drawing air back into the lungs. Thus a con- 
stant supply of life-giving oyxgen is assured until such time as 
the body resumes its normal respiration. 
To help in keeping a regular pace, you should count slowly. 
On the forward stroke, count “one-two-three.” On the back- 
ward swing, count “one-two.” 
The victim must be kept warm. As soon as possible, get an 
assistant to cover him. The rhythm should not be interrupted 
while this is being done. 
If you have someone to assist you, you can relieve each other 
at intervals. In order not to break the rhythm while making 
the change, the assistant should carry out the motions until 
he is in step with the operator. 
Lives have been saved following hours of work. If no med- 
ical officer is available, continue artificial respiration until 
breathing is restored or until it becomes obvious that the man 
is dead. If the patient starts to breathe again, keep him lying 
down for his heart is still dangerously weak. Get him to the 
sick bay as soon as possible for further care. 
Learn and practice artificial respiration. It may mean the 
saving of a shipmate’s life. This Manual is Based 
on the 
Navy Training Film 
MN 836 
PERSONNEL DAMAGE CONTROL 
(a) Fundamentals of First Aid 
(b) Wounds 
(c) Bomb Blast and Burns 
(d) Fractures 
(e) Artificial Respiration 
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