PLAIN DIRECTIONS FOR THE TREATMENT of WOUNDS in general.
WITH METHODS OF STOPPING VIOLENT BLEEDINGS In Cases of large Wounds in the Legs, Thighs, or Arms, from Gun-Shot, Carpenters Tools, or other Accidents: TO WHICH ARE ADDED REMARKS ON SUSPENDED ANIMATION, And some general Observations on the Treatment of the apparently Dead from accidental Causes.
ALSO A LIST of MEDICINES contained in a CHEST, with ample Instructions for their Use and Application, prepared under the Direction of a regular Practitioner in Medicine.
BY BERNARD OGDEN, CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST, Opposite Church-Street, SUNDERLAND.
SUNDERLAND:
Printed by T. REED, BOOKSELLER.
MDCCXCVII.
PREFACE.
AS it is the wish of the Editor of these Observations to render them generally useful, pains have been taken to draw them up in such language as shall be generally understood; with this view all technical terms and medical phrases have been avoided as much as possible; where they have necessarily occured they are accompanied with such explanations as it is hoped will render them perfectly intelligible to every capacity.
In treating of wounds a good deal of minuteness has been employed; but he believes not more than is required when the importance of the subject is considered. To point out the properest method of stopping violent bleedings, it was necessary to say something on the relative situation of the veins and arteries, he trusts this has been done in as clear a manner as the subject will admit of; and doubts not but a little attention will render it perfectly understood.
In describing the use and application of the medicines the same perspicuity has been attempted; and he hopes not attempted in vain. The doses mentioned are for a grown person; the discretion of the person administering them will generally be sufficient to direct him in any variation from the rules here laid down, that may be called for by particular circumstances, such as the patient's age, strength, &c.
To captains of ships this small chest, with the remarks contained in this pamphlet, are particularly recommended. When at s
a they and their crews are cut off from the rest of the world, and are indeed a little society of themselves. Thus circumstanced the health and vigour of every individual becomes an object of considerable importance; in fact it is then a common concern, as few vessels carry more people than are required, the exertions of every one is necessary in order to perform the common duties of the ship; and the want of one man, disabled by sickness or accident, where the number of the crew is by no means superfluous, may prove in the end of very serious consequence.
To families at a distance from any town they are also calculated to be serviceable.—By an attentive perusal of the pamphlet little doubt is entertained but the meanest capacity will be enabled to hand relief in many instances, where much suffering and danger might be the consequence of the delay occasioned by waiting the arrival of a medical person from the distance of perhaps several miles, independant of the chance of his being from home, or engaged when sent for.
The Editor wishes to be understood that it is not in any manner his intention to suggest the inexpediency of calling in medical aid in every case which has the appearance of danger, or from which there may be a chance of danger resulting; on the contrary he strongly recommends it. He wishes to impress the minds of those who may read this with the necessity of early medical advice in every such case; and repeats that it is to those only whose situation renders it impossible immediately to procure such help, or to cases which are slight and well understood, that this Medicine Chest is particularly adapted.
WOUNDS.
On the use of the Tourniquet or Bandage, and manner of stepping violent Bleedings.
IN treating of the management of wounds the first thing that demands our consideration is the bleeding with which most of them are attended. When the blood is not poured out with great force, though the quantity should even be considerable, it generally proceeds from wounded veins, and may be stopped by pressing a piece of scraped lint, either alone or dipped in fine flour or Turlington's Balsam, upon the wound with the fingers. But when the Hood is thrown out with great force, and especially if it springs out by jerks, it proceeds from wounded artcries, and requires the most serious attention.
To direct us in this case, we must consider the arteries as strong branched pipes or tubes through which the blood is forced from the heart at each beat to every part of the trunk of the body, to the head, to the arms, and to the legs.— The veins spring in small branches from all the parts the arteries carry blood to; they pursue their course towards the heart; joining with each other, forming gradually larger and larger veins, till they reach the heart in one large trunk. The heart may be compared to a sort of forcing pump, throwing the blood along the arteries with such force, that we can feel the jerk or pulse wherever an artery lies: and the blood losing its impulse as it passes along, makes its way, without any pulse or beating, into the veins, through which it returns to the heart, compleating what is called
the circulation of the Hood.
From these simple principles the method of putting a stop to a bleeding from a wounded artery is exceedingly plain; that is, it must be compressed between the heart and the wound.
In wounds of the foot or leg the bleeding may be stopped by casting a knot in the middle of a handkerchief, placing the knot in the ham or hollow behind the knee, tying it tight before, and twitching it sufficiently by means of a stick, put between the place where we tye it and the thigh. The handkerchief should be tightened as quickly as p
ssible after it is put on, otherwise the veins will be painfully stretched. For a very slight pressure on a vein stops the course of the blood in its return to the heart, whilst the artery requiring more force to obstruct it, keeps throwing blood into the veins of the limb, distending them as when we tye an arm up for bleeding.
When the wound is in any part of the thigh a handkerchief must be firmly knoted round the limb, between the place of the wound and the body; and must be twitched with a stick as before directed. But should the wound be so high up as to leave no room for tying the handkerchief above it, a firm pressure must be made, with the hand, on that part of the groin where the watch lies when the wound is of the right thigh, and on the left groin when the wound is of the left thigh.
If an artery in the hand or arm is pouring out blood, we stop it by casting a knot in a handkerchief, placing the knot on any part of that side of the arm which is next the body between the elbow and armpit, tying it round, and twitching it with a stick as in wounds of the leg. And here it must be observed, that in dangerous bleedings, from wounds of the limbs, there is neither time nor necessity for stripping the part we apply the ligature to; for there is no doubt of lives having been lost by attempts to undress the limb when an expeditious appheation of the handkerchief above the cloaths, but higher up than the wound, might have saved them.
In wounds of the head or trunk of the body we command the bleeding by pressing firmly with our singers on that border of the wound the blood springs from; and when we cannot determine which side the blood comes from, we press one side after another till we succeed.
By these means, which it is every man's duty to be acquainted with, the most violent bleeding may be stopped for some time; and where a surgeon can be had no more should be attempted. But when it unfortunately happens that the wound is received at sea, or where no surgical assistance can be obtained, a manly resolution must be put on to save the sufferer's life, which it is hoped the following directions will assist.
A temporary stop being put to the bleeding by one or other of the forementioned methods, the wound should be cleared of clotted blood, or whatever else may happen to stick to it, by washing it gently with a sponge and milkwarm water. It should next be dried, and the pressure removed from the artery, by raising the finger, in cases of wounds of the head or body, and by untwisting the stick of the handkerchief or tourniquet in wounds of the limbs, in order that the flow of blood may direct us to the mouth of the wounded artery. We now take notice of the place the blood springs from, and immediately renew the pressure by the fingers or twitch; and by again washing the sore endeavour to find the opening, which will seldom be difficult when the wound is large and open, and the artery of any consequence. If the blood proceeds from a wound in the side of an artery, the wounded part of it may be raised up by means of a large needle, so as to allow a piece of double waxed thread to be passed under it on the side next the heart, and firmly tied round the artery, taking care to leave the ends of the thread so long as to hang quite out of the wound.—The same should be done on the other end of the opening if the artery is large. But when an artery is quite cut in two, the ends soon shrink amongst the flesh, so that the bleeding is sometimes stopped in both of them; almost always in that most distant from the heart; for then no blood passes into it but by small branches between it and the other arteries of the limb.
For the most part, however, the upper end in large arteries, continues to throw out dangerous quantities of blood, which we must endeavour to stop by drawing it out with a needle, and tying it firmly with a double waxed thread.
When the end of a limb is carried away by a cannon ball the bleeding is seldom very alarming, for even large arteries are, in that case, closed up by the bruised parts. But we should not entirely depend upon this, as the larger ones generally break out again in a short time when we are not aware of it, and so prove fatal. We are, therefore, to put the twitch round the limb, but without tighteaing it, to wash away the clotted blood with a sponge and warm water, in order to discover the end of the artery, that it may be tied as before directed.
This method of securing wounded arteries is certainly the safest and best when it can be followed; but cases may occur where, either from want of courage, or of dexterity, it does not answer; in these recourse must be had to the following:
Having discovered, by the means already described, the mouth of the bleeding artery, or at least the part of the wound in which it is situated, we press a piece of sponge of a convenient size firmly upon it; over this we lay a piece of scraped lint, folded up and dipped in Turlington's Balsam, and then some pieces of linen rag, folded up as if for bleeding, each a little larger than that laid on before it, till a pile is raised an inch or two above the edges of the wound according to the size of the wound; binding the whole firmly down with a bandage of linen about three inches broad, and so long as to cover the limb with two or three plies, extending at least four inches each way from the wound.
The sufferer must now be laid in bed, in such a manner that the wounded part may lie easy and undisturbed, and not too much covered with bedeloaths. Nor where the wounded artery is large must the handkerchief be removed from the upper part of the limb for three or four days; nor must the patient be left alone during that period for any length of time, since startings of the part, or many other causes, may give rise to repeated bleedings, which might be prevented from proving fatal by immediately tightening the handkerchief or tourniquet. In this state the wound must remain for the space of four or five days, or until the dressings are loosened by the formation of matter, when it must be managed in the same manner as other wounds with loss of substance, which we shall fully describe under the next head.
TREATMENT OF WOUNDS.
HITHERTO we have confined ourselves to the means of stopping the discharge of blood from wounded arteries, we are next to consider the most proper mode of dressing every variety of wounds; and for the sake of method begin with those most easy of cure.
Of this kind are clean flesh-wounds running in the direction of the limbs on which they are situated; for here we can avail ourselves of the disposition which the edges of such wounds have to grow together when they touch each other constantly, by what is called adhesive inflammation, and by which the healing of a considerable wound will sometimes be effected in three or four days, so as to require no farther care than avoiding such accidents as might tear it open again before the part regains its strength.
In every clean wound therefore where there is no bleeding artery, or where we have been able to tye it, as this method is admissible recourse should be had to it. The first thing to be done is to make the wound as clean as possible by means of a sponge and warm water; and having absorbed as much as we can of the blood from its surface, the surrounding skin must be dried with a cloth, and whilst another person holds the edges of the wound nicely and closely together with his fingers, but so as to be out of our way, strips of sticking plaister, from three to six inches in length, and from a quarter to half an inch in breadth, are to be laid right across the wound, a straw's breadth distant from each other; warming them as they are applied, to make them stick more readily, and carefully drying the skin wherever the least moisture appears.
If an artery has been tied in the wound the ends of the thread must he brought out at that edge they are nearest to, and should be left of such a length as to reach an inch beyond it, when the wound must be closed, and the strips of plaister applied as before. And here it may be useful to observe that the person who assists us should lay his singers on the strips as we proceed to secure them more effectually. The tract of the wound must now be covered with a piece of seraped lint, and over this we must lay a piece of the same thinly spread with
cerate,
and so large as to reach half an inch in every direction beyond the first piece. And lastly, this dressing must be secured by binding the part neatly up with a linen bandage, reaching a hand's-breadth each way from the wound. The wound being thus dressed it must be kept quite easy and unmoved till the fourth day, when the bandage must be cantiously unfolded, softening it with a sponge and warm water if it is glued together with the blood. The lint must be next removed, and if there are threads hanging out from tied arteries they may be very gently drawn; but if they are not disposed to come away easily they must not be forced, but tried at each fature dressing till they are quite loose. After examining the threads, the sticking plaisters must be removed; and having gently wiped away any matter that may be found on the sore, or on the adjoining skin, they may be renewed but in less number, and also the lint, the lint spread with cerate, and the handage. This mode of dressing must be repeated daily, and continued so long as the threads remain, any matter appears on the wound, or its edges continue tender; but when these appearances cease, allowing the same dressing to remain, a few days will complete the cure.
We have dwelt particularly on this mode of curing wounds, as it is the most satisfactory in its consequences, the most desirable when ever it can be used, and may serve as a model for some part of the treatment of the description of wounds we are next to consider.
Wherever there is a loss of substance in wounds, or where there is such a vacancy left between the sides of the wound, by the shrinking of the divided skin and flesh, as renders it impossible to keep them together by strips of sticking plaister or bandages, a disserent and much more tedious method of cure alone remains for us. A bruised or ragged wound, or one we have been obliged to sill with scraped lint, sponge, &c. for restraining the discharge of blood must be treated exactly in the same manner.
The process which nature follows in the repair of these injuries is admirable, and must be attended to before we can manage the treatment of them.
The first thing observable in wounds whose edges are lest open is, that the surface of the wound is in every instance thrown off by the formation of matter under it. Sometimes this surface is so thin as almost to escape notice; at others thick, and is then called a slough or sitfast. And where much violence has been done to the structure of the part by a bruise, or where the habit of body is faulty, the slough is sometimes of a very serious size as happens in cases of gangrene. The colour of sloughs varies with their degree of importance; the slight ones, when they are not tinged with blood, are of a buff dolour; the more serious ones are ash coloured, mixed here and there with black, brown, green, and yellow. No sooner are these sloughs discharged than the matter becomes creamcoloured and thick; the surface of the fore looks red and clean; the cavity of the wound gradually fills up with tender granulations, or now flesh, to the level of the adjoining skin; and lastly, a thin rind begins to form round the edges, which extending inwards, becomes the future skin.
Having taken this slight view of the healing process, in wounds whose edges are left open, we are prepared to enter upon their treatment. Clean wounds of this kind must be filled lightly with scraped lint; ragged or bruised ones with the same dipped in Turlington's Balsam. Over this a pledgit of basilicon, spread upon sine tow, must be laid, and then a nice bolster of tow, binding the whole on with a bandage. In this state the part must remain till the fourth day, when the matter generally loosens the dressings so as to make their removal easy. At this time we take away all that is loose, or can be rendered so by moistening with warm milk and water; but clip off the ends of those pieces of lint that still stick to the sore. We lay on a little fresh lint, renew the plaister, bolster of tow and bandage, and change this dressing daily, gently wiping the edges of the sore with a piece of tow, to remove any superfluous matter, and taking care not to cram it with the lint. And when the cavity is filled up we must change the basilicon pledgit for one of cerate, covering the surface with a single piece of lint rather larger than the sore, and laid with its softest side downwards, still dressing once a-day till the cure is complete.
When a wound is attended with a high degree of inflammation and swelling, or its edges are hard and projecting, white bread poultices must be applied once or twice a day above the pledgit instead of the bolster and bandage, and in that case the patient may take a cooling purge, such as salts.
But when, on the other band, the surface of the skin around the sore looks flabby and soft, is covered with blisters, or the sloughs are thick and ill coloured, the discharge thin, dark, and very offensive to the smell, the bark must be given freely in the manner directed under that article in the directions. Towards the conclusion of the cure of sores the new granulations sometimes rise above the surface of the sound skin, forming what is called fungous, or proud flesh, this may be kept down by touching it occasionally with a piece of wetted blue vitriol, which will in such a case amazingly hasten the healing.
Balls, splinters of wood, bone, or glass, pieces of the cloaths, or any kind of extraneous substance found in a wound, must be immediately removed if that can be done by gentle means, as they for the most part absolutely prevent the cure, and are often productive of distressing and dangerous consequences. But where their removal is difficult they must be suffered to remain till they are loosened by the digestion of the wound, or till the case comes under the management of a skilful surgeon, whose assistance these few directions are never designed to supersede.
SCALDS AND BURNS.
SLIGHT scalds may be smeared three or four times a-day with a mixture of three spoonfuls of olive oil, one ocerate, and thirty drops of Goulard's Extract, and covered with a piece of soft rag moistened with the same. If a few small blisters should rise do not disturb them for a day or two, when the pain and inflammation will probably be gone, they may then be discharged by snipping them in places with a pair of scissars, and the sore must afterwards be dressed with cerate only.
For more violent scalds where the skin comes off directly, or where very large blisters are raised at first, as happens when boiling water is long applied to the part, or where they are occasioned by hot grease or oil, the blisters may be cut immediately, and the part dressed with equal parts of basilicon and cerate, spread on linen rag, once or twice a-day according to the quantity of the discharge.
Violent burns always destroy the texture of the part to some depth; in this case they must be treated in the same manner as wounds with the loss of substance, as described at page 11.
APPARENT DEATH.
THE instances of apparent death most frequently met with, and which come most within the plan of this work, are those arising from drowning, hanging, excessive drinking, or breathing air which is unfit for the purposes of animal life, by being impregnated with noxious particles, as by charcoal burning in a close place, the vapour from sulphur, mine damps, &c. As instances of this kind from one or other of these causes are frequently occuring, we shall endeavour to give some general remarks on each head.
DROWNING.
WHEN a body is taken out of the water apparently dead there are two material objects to which our attention must be immediately turned, viz. to restore breathing, and to keep up or bring back a natural degree of warmth. To effect these important purposes, after the body has been stripped and laid upon a bed, with the head and shoulders a little raised, we must "put the pipe of a pair of bellows into one of the nostrils, the other nostril and the mouth being closed by an assistant, and blow gently till the breast be
little raised. Let the mouth and nostril then be left fre
and an easy pressure be made upon the breast. Repeat thi
imitation of natural breathing, at short intervals, for an hou
or longer. If no bellows be at hand, let an assistant blo
into the nostrils of the drowned person with his brea
through a quill, reed, or any other small pipe."
Whilst these attempts are making other assistants may "dr
the body completely with warm cloths, and afterwards ru
it diligently, but gently, with hot flannels on the left sid
near the heart. Apply to the hands and feet cloths wru
out of hot water, and heated bricks, or bottles, or bladders half filled with hot water, or bags of hot grains or sand to the stomach and armpits."
These efforts must be continued for at least two hours, as there have been instances of recovery after a length of time has past without any appearance of reanimation.
HANGING.
HANGING occasions death by compressing the windpipe, and consequently stopping the breathing, and obstructing the return of the blood to the heart by the jugular veins. If the unhappy person is discovered whilst the body is still warm and pliable there are generally some hopes of recovery; and as apparent death has been occasioned principally by the breathing being stopped, the method of attempting recovery is clearly pointed out. We must endeavour to restore the breathing as quickly as possible in the same manner as directed in cases of drowning.
Should any person be present who understands bleeding, the patient may be bled to the extent of a tea-cup full, more or less according to his strength, or a cupping glass may be applied to the neck. Should it happen that none present will attempt bleeding some pains must be taken to lessen the quantity of blood collected in the head and neck, by keeping the body almost upright. Attention must be paid to prevent the patient becoming cold, or if already cold, to restore the natural warmth by means directed under the article drowning.
EXCESSIVE DRINKING.
THE effects of excessive drinking are frequently satal, from little or no attention being paid to the unfortunate, and frequently helpless object. The vulgar notion,
that nothing can hurt a drunken man,
has been the loss of many a life. From this erroneous opinion, when a person is become what is termed dead drunk, he is suffered to tumble and roll about almost without notice. He is then in the greatest danger. The quantity which he has drank generally begets an inclination to vomit; in attempting which, he gets his head over the side of the bed, or into some other position, with his head downwards, and not being attended 10, that situation, added to the tightness of his shirt-neck or neckcloth, produces suffocation; and we have seen many instances where the unhappy person has been found next morning quite dead.
From these considerations it will appear evident how necessary it is to pay some attention to people in this condition. The first step should be to loosen the neckcloth, shirt-neck, night-cap strings, or any thing which is about the neck, and to place the body in a suitable position. The best position is laying, with the head and shoulders raised; if the patient is suffered to sit there is a danger of his head hanging down too much upon his breast, by which the circulation of the blood in the neck is obstructed, and an apoplectic state is brought on.
During the time that he is so extremely drunk he must not be left alone lest be tumble out of bed in his struggling. If notwithstanding these precautions he should sensibly become cold, and appear to be growing worse, a clyster may be given without delay, composed equal parts of wine and hot water, with a small table spoonful of flour of mustard, or a tea spoonful of powdered ginger or pepper. Rum, brandy, or gin, mixed with six times its quantity of hot water, with the addition of mustard, &c. may be used instead of wine. To keep up a proper degree of warmth the same means must be used as directed under the article drowning.
The excessive degree of thirst occasioned by drinking strong liquors often induce people to quench it by taking what is hurtful. The safest drink after a debauch is water with a toast, barley water, or tea.
Excessive drinking is a failing we cannot sufficiently condemn. Of its effects we can hardly say too much; as it is impossible to say what are the consequences which arise from it not only to the individual himself but to the community at large. A person who gives himself up to hard drinking greatly hazards his own existence, and renders himself incapable of fulfilling the duties of his station in life. If he is in a situation of trust he ill merits the confedence reposed in him. If a sea-faring parson such a conduct is more especially blameable, as the success of his voyage is thereby rendered precarious, and the property of his employers, and the lives and safety of those under him, are frequently exposed through his misconduct to imminent peril.
NOXIOUS VAPOURS AND LIGHTNING.
IT frequently happens that in eases of apparent death from noxious vapours, or being struck down by lightning, if the person is discovered soon, that the heat of the body is even greater than that of a living person. In this case good effects have been observed from dashing the face and the whole body with cold water, thrown in small quantities, and with some force. The effect will be still greater if the body be dried at intervals, and then the sprinkling repeated.
Every thing must be removed from the neck, and pains must be taken to lessen the quantity of blood collected in the head by the means recommended under the article hanging. But if the body instead of being warmer than natural should feel cold, or should be gradually turning colder, warmth must be kept up by the means already directed under the article drowning.
EXPOSURE TO EXTREME COLD.
ONE of the effects of long exposure to severe cold in sleepiness; this is produced by the cold gradually extinguishing the vital principle. In cases of shipwreck, and in very severe winters, it will sometimes happen that people are exposed for such a length of time as to produce the effect we have just mentioned; every exertion should then be made to keep awake, as there is reason to suppose that death might be the consequence of falling a-sleep at such a time. A body found apparently dead from this cause must be treated with the greatest caution. It would appear most eligible to many to attempt the restoration of life by the immediate application of warmth; but experience has proved this to be an erroneous and dangerous mode of proceeding. The body must be got into a house as speedily as possible, but not near the fire, and rubbed for a length of time with cold cloths, after which warmth and breathing may be gradually attempted in the manner already directed.
CONTENTS OF THE MEDICINE CHEST.
Spirit of Hartshorn
Spirit of Nitre
Basilicon Ointment
Cerate
Opodeldoc
Rhubarb
Tincture of Rhubarb
Blue Vitriol
Goulard's Extract
Purging Pills
Glauber's Salts
Olive Oil
Lint, Tow, and Sponge
Ipecacuan
Antimonial Powders
Camomile Flowers
Jalap
Turlington's Balsam
Mint Water
Anodyne Tincture
Sticking Plaister
Peruvian Bark
Magnesia
Scales and Weights
The weights are marked thus:
Half a Scruple
A Scruple
Half a Dram
Two Scruples
A Dram
Two Dramo
The grain weights have each a certain number of round marks denoting the number of grains, besides which there is a stamp on each, thus is six grains:
Directions for their Use and Application.
SPIRIT OF HARTSHO
.—Useful in headachs and faintings; it may be held to the n
se, or a feather dipped in it may be put up the nostril. Half a tea spoonful of it may be mixed with half a cup of water, and taken in faintings and fits. One table spoonful of it and two of olive oil, well mixed, by shaking them together in a hottle, make a lintment very useful for rubbing on parts swelled from rheumatism, for sore throats, or swellings of the face from exposure to severe cold, and for sprains where there is no unusual heat or inflammation. The part should be rubbed three or four times a day, and covered with flannel.
SPIRIT OF NITRE.—Six tea spoonfuls of this and one of spirit of hartshorn may be mixed, and a tea spoonful taken in a little barley water every three hours where sweating is required. Its effect will be greatly promoted by drinking freely of barley water, thin gruel, or balm tea.
BASILIGON OINTMENT.—Useful in the first stage of every wound whose edges cannot be brought together. It promotes the formation of good matter, which may be known by its being thick and of a crean, colour. It is the most proper dressing for boils and collections of matter after they burst. As we have already had occasion to allude to the use of this article in the treatment of wounds we consider it unnecessary to say more in this place.
CERATE.—A very proper dressing for such slight hurts as consist only of a loss of skin. Also in burns and sealds. This article is also alluded to in the treatment of wounds, which see.
OPODELDOC.—For bruises and sprains. The part affected may be rubbed with it three or four times a-day, and covered with flannel.
RHUBARB.—A purging medicine. Dose from half a dram to a dram, in a little mint water.
TINCTURE OF RHUBARB.—For colicky complaints and gripings. Two table spoonfuls, with an equal quantity of mint water, and a small tea spoonful of the anodyne tinctures may be taken for a dose, and repeated in two hours should
he pain continue either with or without vomiting. In the
eal colic, which is attended with costiveness or a want of passage through the bowels, an excessive pain and twisting about the navel, and often a severe vomiting, having used
he last mentioned remedy without essect, and the belly having been bound for some days, two of the purging pills may be given every two hours till they operate. The belly
hould have large pieces of woollen cloth, wrung out of hot water as hot as the hands can well manage, applied to it, and renewed as fast as they cool for the space of a quarter of in hour at a time, and repeated occasionally. Where the pain is very great and the person strong, bleeding would be proper. If the vomiting is so great that the pills are thrown up, and are seen, they must be repeated directly, washing them down with a tea spoonful of the anodyne tincture in two table spoonfuls of mint water. Drinking much must be avoided at this time, as taking any liquid will increase the inclination to vomit.
In order to prevent a return of the colic costiveness must be avoided. The belly should be opened by taking occasionally half a dram of rhubarb and an equal quantity of magnesia in the morning fasting, in a little mint water.
STICKING PLAISTER.—May be used for parts where the skin is rubbed off, also as a strengthening plaister. It is very useful in many wounds as already described.
OLIVE OIL.—Useful in rheumatism, sore throats, and swellings, (see spirit of hartshorn) also in scalds as already mentioned. For coughs moisten a piece of loaf sugar in it, and let it dissolve slowly in the mouth whenever the cough is troublesome. For pains in the ear mix equal parts of olive oil and anodyne tincture, dip a piece of lint in it and put into the ear.
LINT AND TOW.—Their uses are already described in treating of wounds.
IPECACUAN.—For vomits. Dose from a scruple to half a dram, taken in half a cup of water, and worked off with camomile tea.
CAMOMILE FLOWERS.—For working off vormits. A handful may be mixed with three pints of boiling water, and allowed to sland a quarter of an hour.
ANTIMONIAL POWEDERS.—In the beginning of feverish disorders, which are distinguished by a sudden loss of strength, pain all over the body, but more particularly in the back and knees, shiverings and hot fits by turns, sickness, thirst pain in the head, beating in the temples and giddiness, with a sense of weight or oppression over the breast. One of the powders may be dissolved in a gill of water, and two table spoonfuls taken every four hours, shaking the bottle. The first or second dose will commonly occasion sickness or even vomiting. The common drink should be barley water, and the spirit of nitre may be taken as directed under that article, to promote sweating, and the patient should continne in bed, When by these means the fever is removed, or when it returus only by sits once a-day, the bark should be taken in doses of a tea spoonful, mixed with the same quantity of gin, and two spoonfuls of mint water every three or four hours.
JALAP.—A purging medicine. Dose from a scruple to half a dram, or two scruples; it may be taken in tea.
TURLINGTON'S BALSAM AND BLUE VITRIOL.—Their uses are already spoken of in the treatment of wounds.
ANODYNE TINCTURE.—Dose one tea spoonful in mint water for vomiting, attended with pain in the stomach on boweis. Also for looseness attended with severe griping. For its use in colic see tincture of rhubarb. In no ease whatever must it be given oftener than thrice in the course of the day, and then only in violent cases.
GOULARD'S EXTRACT.—Useful in sealds, (which see) A tea spoonful, mixed with a gill of water, and two table spoonfuls of opodeloc, is proper for bruises attended with much swelling or inflammation. Without the opodeldoc but merely mixed with water, it is proper for bathing an enslamed eye.
PERUVTAN BARK.—For agues. Before beginning its use take a vomit of ipeencuan an hour before the approach of the cold fit is expected; should this prevent its taking place,
having waited till the sw
ating fit is over, take a tea spoonful every two hours as long as the next cold sit keeps off. In cases of wounds, where it is required, a tea spoonful may be taken every three hours as directed in fevers, (see antimonial powders.)
PURGING PILLS.—See tincture of rhubarb.
MAGNESIA.—For the heartburn and complaints of the stomach, arising from sourness, a tea spoonful may be taken in mint water. Where the belly is bound, and the stomach and bowels disordered with wind, half a dram of magnesia, with about ten grains of rhubarb, may be taken in mint water occasionally at bed time, so as to keep the bowels geutly open.
GLAUBER'S SALTS.—Proper wherever a cooling purge is required. The common dose a large table spoonful dissolved in warm water, and drank whilst warm.