First aid/unskilled care - shoulder injury - 1870's

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RBEmerson

RBEmerson

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My female MC spent too much firing a double barrel 10 gauge shotgun. Her shoulder hurts like hell. Yes, she pulled the butt in tight, but recoil is recoil.

First aid - cold or heat?

After that more cold, more heat, lineament?

Assume no medical care, save for home remedies, and a doting spouse.

I banged myself, not that bad, and did the "guy thing" and "played hurt". And swore never to let some talk me into trying a drop block elephant gun (honest!) with full loads again.
 
Bufty

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Late 1870's I guess. What do you mean by 'spent too much time'?

I never got bruises firing a .303 bolt rifle in the Navy but some of my pals did. All to do with holding the weapon wrongly. Treatment? None.

If there's no ice available initially, maybe she could sit in a nearby pool or river.
 
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neandermagnon

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For bruising and minor soft tissue injuries, it's RICE: rest ice compression elevation. (I think I had to memorise that in the Girl Guides.)

compression = putting some kind of bandage on it, though IMO that's overkill for a bruised shoulder, plus bandages are awkward on shoulders (yes I did learn how to use my Guide scarf to make a bandage and a sling).

I would say she should put ice on it and stop firing the gun for a while (that's the rest bit). The shoulder's already elevated. Really there isn't much else you can do. If ice is not available then soak a rag in cold water and use that. The evaporation will keep it cold.

Heat is a bad idea for bruising. Bruising is caused by the capillaries being damaged and blood leaking out. Cold causes the capillaries to contract so less blood can get through. This slows the bleeding, reducing swelling and bruising. Heat would make the capillaries relax/open up and make things worse. Also cold helps reduce pain (it hurts at first but will start to numb the nerve endings) while heat will probably make the pain worse. Heat is good for tired or strained muscles as the pain comes from the muscle fibres going into spasms (i.e. too much contraction) and the heat helps to relax them.

The human body will take care of itself in situations like this, even without first aid. But if her doting spouse wants to make her feel better then ice or a cold rag will do it.
 
RBEmerson

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Thanks. RICE I know, but wasn't sure what followed that. So much for Doctoer Wisenburg's Embrocation for Muscles and Women's Hysteria (known to be mystery horse lineament with oil of wintergreen to cover up the stench).

Rest is easy. Ice is no problem. It's mid-December and there was a recent 1 foot snow dump. (*). Knowing to do compression may take a little help from Clyde the barber and "knows a little about medicine". Elevation is "got a nice rocking chair".

Why all the shooting - a plot point - a how-to session turns into an obsessive attempt to kill off memories of assaults.

Never having fired a 10 ga. (12 ga. a few times) I have no accurate sense of how much damage unloading barrels 10-15 (or more) times will do. I fired four of five rounds with the Weatherby (.378, probably) and pulled that rascal in hard and it still hurt for a couple of days afterward.

CORRECTION: Had the bright idea to Google recoil. The Weatherby .378 produces somewhere (fuzzy numbers) around 30-40 ft. lb. A 10 ga. was listed +/- 60 ft. lb.(!!) Weapon weight absorbs recoil (hurry for inertia). A sawed off 10 ga. isn't a featherweight. Literature suggests it's not that far to permanent damage - not desirable, period. Our gal just stopped somewhere around 5 double-barrel shots.

(*) For the woefully unexperienced, the snow figures prominently in making maple syrup bacon (male MC is ready to kill for same, the dark grade, naturally). Pour a strip of syrup directly on cold snow (forget melting or refrozen), allow to harden, and consume with blissful delight. P.S. Male MC will take yours if you don't want it.
 
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