Part 5
And these are the signs that the patient has been well treated and
properly bandaged: if you ask him if the arm feels tight, and he says
it does, but moderately so, and especially about the fracture; and
this reply he should make all along, if the bandage be properly applied.
And these are symptoms of the bandaging being moderately tight; if
for the first day and night he fancies that the tightness does not
diminish, but rather increases; and if on the next day there be a
soft swelling in the hand, for this is a sign of moderate compression,
but at the end of the second day the compression should feel less,
and on the third day the bandaging should appear loose. And if any
of
[p. 176] these symptoms be wanting, you may conclude that the bandaging
is slacker than it should be; or if any of these symptoms be in excess,
you may infer that the compression is more than moderate; and judging
from these, you will apply the next bandages either slacker or tighter.
Having removed the bandages on the third day, you must make extension
and adjust the fracture, and bind it up again; and if the first bandaging
was moderately applied, the second bandaging should be made somewhat
tighter. The heads the bandages should be placed on the fractures
as in the former case; for, so doing, the humors will be driven to
the extremities, whereas if you bandage any other part beforehand,
the humors will he forced from it to the seat of the fracture: it
is of much importance that this should be properly understood. Thus
the bandaging and compression should always commence at the seat of
the fracture, and everything else should be conducted on the same
principle, so that the farther you proceed from the fracture, the
compression should always be the less. The bandages should never be
actually loose, but should be smoothly put on. At each dressing the
number of bandages should be increased; and the patient, if asked,
should answer, that he feels the bandages somewhat tighter than on
the former occasion, especially about the fracture, and everything
else in proportion; and with respect to the swelling, the pain, and
recovery, everything should proceed as after the former dressing.
But on the third day the outer bandaging should appear looser. Then
having removed the bandages, you should bind it up again, somewhat
tighter than before, and with all the bandages which will be required
on the occasion, and afterwards one ought to experience the same train
of symptoms as at the former periods of bandaging.
