A lot of issues will likely be 'call a healer,' at least for awhile.

>>For gills, use shark CPR, towing the victim through the water so it flows over the gills. <<

A problem is that when sharks are belly down in the water, their mouths point forward (water goes thru like a pipe or tube propelled by swimming), but a human's mouth would point down (lungs are a bellows, powered by muscle). Unless a merfolk could rotate their head/spine so the mouth points forward (not down) while swimming, I don't think the shark gills will work very well with a human body.

I think some fish can breathe by gulping water, instead of swimming at it. (Goldfish, maybe?) This may be a better matcch for a human-fish respiratory mashup than shark gills...

Also look up external gills, as salamanders have. Plus, they're more closely related to us than fish, AND a lungfish or amphibian may be already designed for a dual lung/gill setup. I think a salamander merperson would be pretty cool looking! (Might prefer a freashwater marsh tho - maybe one of the Primals Ashley is working with?)

>>Well, except in the Maldives, which is attracting scads of mermaids, much to everyone's delight.<<

I'd like to see the Maldives someday have the best saltwater-soup hospital in the world, with both human and aquatic-native staff, free teleporting, and interspecies art, including underwater landscaping and coral gardens! (I want a tour!)

Th best freshwater one...I was thinking Florida Everglades, but the Brazillin Amazon might be better. Now including a river-dolphin nurse whose family do tree-dancing during the flood season, lanscaping that incorporates the flood season as a feature and a combination of native, colonial and cetacen art. (Maybe have two, one for swampland one for rivers?)

>>There's at least one company offering voluntary makeovers, too.<<
What, like the tiger lady in the hunger games, or like Dr. Moreau? It seems kind of mad-science-y to me...

>>What I have seen is lizard traits causing near-fatal effects due to light and heat deprivation that wouldn't faze a human. O_O<<
Hypothermia treatment for ectotherms? Hypothermia /prevention/ for ectotherms? Frostbite treatment? Also how to test for illness, as they don't get fevers?

>>...even if canid first aid winds up being a separate session. <<

The farm or the Primal Soupcon should start offering these as routine lessons at some point.

>There are even a few people with plant traits, rather than just Plant Powers.<<

Not sure how you'd even treat that...plant medicine includes routinely lopping off diseased limbs, tho such a person may have higher resilance or pain tolerance.

>>And now I want to drop one in an aquarium with branches across the lid to see if it will try to spit ropes and pull itself out.<<

Make it a sawmplike aquarium - damp enough to be unplesant, but not enough to harm? Or if theyre smart enough, you could train some with flags (optimal condition/treat here) as they did with the flag-platform-rat learning experiment. With the latter, you could even forego the water, and test their abilities with a maze or obsicle course.

>>That's possible. A mask can work if pressed over breathing orifices -- it's not actually restricted to mouth. There are other shapes for nonhumans already, used in veterinary care, very useful for some animal soups.<<

Another problem - how to get the water out? (Especally if they have to be belly facing up for the oxygen)? Based on human methods (make gravity get the water out, provide assistance as needed) I can guess:
- FIRST tilt patient so shoulder-equivalent axis is diagonal with belly facing down, THEN administer oxygen to most convenient breathing orifice.
- if patient is small, may only need one first aider. If patient is large, may need helper(s) to hold patient diagonal.
- if patient is manuverable _and no additional trauma is indicated_, it -may- be possible to dislodge water by gently tapping on the back. DO NOT DO THIS IF ABDOMINAL EXOSKELETON IS DAMAGED. (I am not sure if gentle jiggling or shaking would help, but I'm leaning towards no).
- if oxygen is unavailible and depending on species, blowing air on the patient or moving them to a lower-humidity environment may help. DO NOT move except as a last resort. If you do move someone transfer them to a stiff surface with minimal shock or movement, as you would for a spine-injured human. DO check for injuries that can be stabilized before moving.

I suspect 'juryrigging medical stuff in the field' will be a class for any primal soup medic...

You can see videos of firefighters giving oxygen to dogs, kittens and baby hamsters. Cute!

>>Huh, I wonder if anyone's actually answered these questions for endangered species of invertebrates? I wish I knew a zookeeper or zoologist!<<

To the internet! Also check those people who keep invertibrates as pets (especially the expensive, jewel-encrusted ones. (People get very attatched to their pets.)

>>Velvet worms are muscular, designed to move with fluid pressure and exert strong force to spew their goo weapon. That means any penetrating injury could cause them to bleed out very fast. <<

Like the fuzzy caterpillar aliens in Sector General.

>>On the other hand, if conscious, Velvet could probably either glue the leak shut or shift back to human form.<<

That's another thing - with shapeshifting, would the injury transfer, worsen, or dissapear? And how do you treat an injury if someone has to transform? (I read a story once where the werewolf was badly maimed before moonrise, and wasn't safe while transformed, so they had to pack him into essentialy, a giant beanbag for the night, with the other (safe) werewolves keeping him calm until he transformed back and they could get help. The healer was astonished he'd survived /one/ transformation, and even more so when told, 'no it was two.')

>>I know that some firebugs already wear a Fire Alert bracelet to warn people never to spray them with fire extinguisher or water, even if they are on fire.<<

Cold Fire by Tamora Pierce has an example of a Smith Mage who terrified the cook by deciding to meditate in the lit firplace...while naked. (He was travelling in the far noth, was cold, and planned to be done before anyone woke up. And his clothes weren't fireproof.)

>>You have such awesome ideas. :D<<

Thanks!

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>>Just have to have several alternate water supplies. Chlorinated is *not* gonna work. Ozonated water might work (some pools do that instead of chlorine). And you'd need fresh/salt options as well.<<

You'd have to be careful - like deeadly allergin careful - that there was NO chlorine in the pool and that it was CLEAN ENOUGH TO DRINK, ESPECIALLY IF THE POOL WAS repurposed. I NOT taking chances on me/my kids/my followers breathing in chorine, because someone did a 'good enough' job.

>>But for a mermaid just get them into some sort of shoulder(?) harness to hold them in place, lower them into the water and start the pump going. adjust the flow rate to whatever works best for them.<<

Be sure the harness compensates for neck suppourt/different anatomy (as mentioned above). I'll also suggest a suspension harness for dolphinlike merfolk, in case having an attendant hold them up in the water is imprractical.

Hmm... could they hire a cetacian nurse/caregiver? I'm not sure most cephelapods would be interested...and they might prefer the tools to the patients.

I'd also suggest looking at sealife centes and taling to marine vets - they might have some good ideas.