Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES 467After a foreign substance has been removed, afew drops of olive oil or castor oil will soothe theeye. l1iis is tlie best treatment, too, if tliere isa splinter that you are unable to remove by carefulpicking.The best wash for inflamed eyes is boric acidin as little water as is required to dissolve it.Snow Blindness.—This "is an inflammation ofthe eye due to the reflection of intense light fromthe snow. There is blindness, flowing of tears,the whites of the eyes are bloodshot, the lids swollen,Often a pus discharges from the eyes, which ishighly contagious and when brought into contactwith, healthy eyes is liable to transmit the disease.Treatment of snow blindness:1. Apply cold cloths which have been on iceor wetted in cold water. Do this for half anhour three times a day, changing the cloths as theybecome warm.2. Several times a day hold the eyelids openwhen lying down and pour into them a stream ofcooled water which has firstbeen boiled.3. At night smear the lids and eyelashes withsome pure salve to prevent them gluing togetherwhile asleep.Prevention of snow blindness:The natives of the far North use eye-covering?which entirely shut out the light except a narrowslit through which they see. Some use smokedglass goggles while still others smear their faceswith grease and lampblack to break the glare. Itis common among mountain climbers to use actors'grease paint for this purpose. In the Winnipegregion of Canada there are used "horse hair" goggleswhich are superior to any other protection to theeyes in snow work. They are made entirely ofhair woven in a loose mesh, convex over the eyes.I would advise anyone traveling In the North toprovide himself with them in preference to glass,which is coated with frost at every change of tem-