TO-MORROW, SINKS INTO THE SILENT TOMB. 759. TRAGACANTH is used to allay tickling cough, and lubricate abraded parts. It is usually given in the form of mucilage. Dose, from ten grains to one drachm, or more. 760. LINSEED is emollient and demulcent. It is used externally, when reduced to powder, as a poultice; and the oil, combined with lime water, is applied to burns and scalds. It is used internally as an infusion in diarrhoea, dysentery, and irritation of the intestines after certain poisons, and in catarrh. Dose of the infusion, as much as the patient pleases. 761. MARSH-MALLOW is used internally in the same diseases as linseed. The leaves are used externally as a fomentation, and the boiled roots are bruised and applied as an emollient poultice. Dose, the same as linseed. 762. MALLOW is used externally as n fomentation and poultice in inflammation, and the infusion is used internally in dysentery, diseases of the kidneys, and the same diseases as marsh-mallow. It is also used as an enema. The dose is the same as for linseed and marshmallow. 763. LIQUORICE is an agreeable demulcent, and is given in the form of decoction in catarrh, and some forms of dyspepsia; and the extract is used in catarrh. Dose, of the extract, from ten grains to one drachm; of the decoction, from two to four ounces. 764. ARROWROOT, isinglass, almonds, suet, and wax, are too well known to require descriptions. (See DOMESTIC PHARMACOPEIA, p. 96, for preparations.) 765. Diluents are chiefly watery compounds, such as weak tea, water, thin broth, gruel, weak infusions of balm, horehound, pennyroyal, ground ivy, mint, and sage. 766. Emollients consist of unctuous remedies, such as cerates and ointments, and any materials that combine heat with moisture,-poultices of bread, bran, linseed meal, carrots, and turnips. (See SPONGIO-PILINE, No. 780, p. 127.) 767. Domestic Surgery.-This will comprise such hints and advice as 125 will enable any one to act on an emergency, or in ordinary trivial accidents requiring simple treatment: and also to distinguish between serious and simple accidents, and the best means to adopt in all cases that are likely to fall under a person's notice. These hints will be of the utmost value to heads of families, to emigrants, and to persons who are frequently called upon to attend the sick. We strongly recommend the Parent, Emigrant, and Nurse, to read over these directions occasionally,—to regard it as a duty to do so at least three or four times a year, so as to be prepared for emergencies whenever they may arise. When accidents occur, people are too excited to acquire immediately a knowledge of what they should do; and many lives have been lost for want of this knowledge. Study, therefore, at moderate intervals, the Domestic Surgery, Treatment of Poisons, Rules for the Prevention of Accidents, How to Escape from Fires, the Domestic Pharmacopoeia, &c., which will be found in various pages of Enquire Within. And let it be impressed upon your mind that THE INDEX will enable you to refer to anything you may require IN A MOMENT. Don't trouble to hunt through the pages; but when you wish to ENQUIRE WITHIN, remember that the INDEX is the knocker, by which the door of knowledge may be opened. 768. Dressings.-These are substances usually applied to parts for the purpose of soothing, promoting their reunion when divided, protecting them from external injuries, as a means of applying various medicines, to absorb discharges, protect the surrounding parts, and insure cleanliness. 769. CERTAIN INSTRUMENTS are required for the application of dressings in domestic surgery, viz., - scissors, a pair of tweezers or simple forceps, a knife, needles and thread, a razor, a lancet, a piece of lunar caustic in a quill, and a sponge. 770. THE MATERIALS REQUIRED for dressings consist of lint, scraped linen, carded cotton, tow, ointment spread on 126 TO-DAY, HIS FOOD IS DRESSED IN DAINTY FORMS; calico, adhesive plaster, compresses, pads, bandages, poultices, old rags of linen or calico, and water. 771. THE FOLLOWING RULES Should be attended to in applying dressings:i. Always prepare the new dressing before removing the old one. ii. Always have hot and cold water at hand, and a vessel to place the foul dressings in. iii. Have one or more persons at hand ready to assist, and tell each person what they are to do before you commence, it prevents confusion; thus one is to wash out and hand the sponges, another to heat the adhesive plaster, or hand the bandages and dressings, and, if requisite, a third to support the limb, &c. iv. Always stand on the outside of a limb to dress it. v. Place the patient in as easy a position as possible, so as not to fatigue him. vi. Arrange the bed after changing the dressings; but in some cases you will have to do so before the patient is placed on it. vii. Never be in a hurry when applying dressings, do it quietly. viii. When a patient requires moving from one bed to another, the best way is for one person to stand on each side of the patient, and each to place an arm behind his back, while he passes his arms over their necks, then let their other arms be passed under his thighs, and by holding each other's hands, the patient can be raised with ease, and removed to another bed. If the leg is injured, a third person should steady it; and if the arm, the same precaution should be adopted. Sometimes a stout sheet is passed under the patient, and by several people holding the sides, the patient is lifted without any fatigue or much disturbance. 772. LINT MAY BE MADE in a hurry by nailing the corners of a piece of old linen to a board, and scraping its surface with a knife. It is used either alone or spread with ointment. Scraped lint is the fine filaments from ordinary lint, and is used to stimulate ulcers and absorb discharges; it is what the French call charpie. 773. SCRAPED LINT IS MADE into various shapes for particular purposes. For example, when it is screwed up into a conical or wedge-like shape, it is called a tent, and is used to dilate fistulous openings, so as to allow the matter to escape freely; to plug wounds, so as to promote the formation of a clot of blood, and thus arrest bleeding. When it is rolled into little balls they are called boulettes, and are used for absorbing matter in cavities, or blood in wounds. Another useful form is made by rolling a mass of scraped lint into a long roll, and then tying it in the middle with a piece of thread; the middle is then doubled and pushed into a deep-seated wound, so as to press upon the bleeding vessel, while the ends remain loose and assist in forming a clot; or it is used in deep-seated ulcers to absorb the matter and keep the edges apart. This form is called the bourdonnet. Another form is called the pelote, which is merely a ball of scraped lint tied up in a piece of linen rag, commonly called a dabber. This is used in the treatment of protrusion of the navel in children. 774. CARDED COTTON is used as a dressing for superficial burns, and care should be taken to free it from specks, as flies are apt to lay their eggs there, and generate maggots. a 775. Tow IS CHIEFLY EMPLOYED as padding for splints, as a compress, and also as an outer dressing where there is much discharge from a surface. 776. OINTMENTS ARE SPREAD on calicoes, lint, or even thin layers of tow, by means of a knife; they should not be spread too thick. 777. ADHESIVE PLASTER is cut into strips, ranging in width, according to the nature of the wound, &c., but the usual width is about three-quarters of an inch. Isinglass plaster is not so irri-> tating as diachylon, and is more easily removed. 778. COMPRESSES ARE MADE of pieces of linen, calico, lint, or tow, doubled or cut into various shapes. They are used to confine dressings in their places, and to apply an equal pressure on parts. They should be free from darns, hems, and knots. Ordinary com TO-MORROW, IS HIMSELF A FEAST FOR WORMS. presses are square, oblong, and triangular. The pierced compress is made by folding up a square piece of linen five or six times on itself, and then nicking the surface with scissors, so as to cut out small pieces. It is then opened out, and spread with ointment. It is applied to discharging surfaces, for the purpose of allowing the matter to pass freely through the holes, and is frequently covered with a thin layer of tow. Compresses are also made in the shape of a Maltese cross, and half a cross, sometimes split singly, and at other times doubly, or they are graduated by placing square pieces of folded cloth on one another, so arranged that they decrease in size each time. They are used for keeping up pressure upon certain parts. 779. PADS ARE MADE by sewing tow inside pieces of linen, or folding linen and sewing the pieces together. They are used to keep off pressure from parts, such as that caused by splints in frac tures. 127 surface of the material; a yeast poultice, by using warmed yeast, and moistening the fabric with hot water, which is to be well squeezed out previous to the absorption of the yeast; a beer poultice, by employing warm porter-dregs or strong beer as the fluid; and a carrot poultice, by using the expressed and evaporated liquor of boiled carrots. The material costs about one farthing a square inch, and may be obtained of the chemist. As a fomentation it is most invaluable, and by moistening the material with compound camphor liniment or hartshorn, it acts the same as a mustard poultice. Full directions will, no doubt, be supplied to those who purchase the material, if inquired for. 781. Bandages.-Bandages are strips of calico, linen, flannel, muslin, elastic webbing, bunting, or some other substance, of various lengths, such as three, four, eight, ten, or twelve yards, and one, one and a half, two, two and a half, three, four, or six inches wide, free from hems or darns, soft and unglazed. They are better after they retain dressings, apparatus, or parts of the body in their proper positions, support the soft parts, and maintain equal pressure. 782. BANDAGES ARE SIMPLE AND COMPOUND; the former are simple slips rolled up tightly like a roll of ribbon. There is also another simple kind, which is rolled from both ends-this is called a double-headed bandage. The compound bandages are formed of many pieces. 780. POULTICES ARE USUALLY MADE of linseed meal, oatmeal, or bread, either | combined with water or other fluids; have been washed. Their uses are to sometimes they are made of carrots, charcoal, potatoes, yeast, and linseed meal, mustard, &c., but the best and most economical kind of poultice is a fabric made of sponge and wool felted together, and backed by Indian rubber, It is called "Markwick's Patent SpongioPiline." The method of using this poultice is as follows: A piece of the material of the required form and size is cut off, and the edges are pared or bevelled off with a pair of scissors, so that the caoutchouc may come in contact with the surrounding skin, in order to prevent evaporation of the fluid used; for, as it only forms the vehicle, we can employ the various poultices generally used with much less expenditure of time and money, and increased cleanliness. For example,-a vinegar poultice is made by moistening the fabric with distilled vinegar; an alum poultice, by using a strong solution of alum; a charcoal poultice, by sprinkling powdered charcoal on the moistened 783. BANDAGES FOR THE HEAD should be two inches wide and five yards long; for the neck, two inches wide and three yards long; for the arm, two inches wide and seven yards long; for the leg, two inches and a half wide and seven yards long; for the thigh, three inches wide and eight yards long; and for the body, four or six inches wide and ten or twelve yards long. 784. TO APPLY A SINGLE-HEADED BANDAGE, lay the outside of the end next to the part to be bandaged, and hold the roll between the little, ring, 128 TO-DAY HE'S CLAD IN GAUDY, RICH ARRAY; and middle fingers, and the palm of the left hand, using the thumb and forefinger of the same hand to guide it, and the right hand to keep it firm, and pass the bandage partly round the leg towards the left hand. It is sometimes necessary to reverse this order, and therefore it is well to be able to use both hands. Particular parts require a different method of applying bandages, and therefore we shall describe the most useful separately; and there are different ways of putting on the same bandage, which consist in the manner the folds or turns are made. For example, the circular bandage is formed by horizontal turns, each of which overlaps the one made before it; the spiral consists of spiral turns; the oblique follows a course oblique or slanting to the centre of the limb; and the recurrent folds back again to the part whence it started. 785. CIRCULAR BANDAGES are used for the neck, to retain dressings on any part of it, or for blisters, setons, &c.; for the head, to keep dressings on the forehead or any part contained within a circle passing round the head; for the arm, previous to bleeding; for the leg, above the knee; and for the fingers, &c. 786. TO CONFINE THE ENDS OF BANDAGES some persons use pins, others slit the end for a short distance, and tie the two strips into a knot, and some use a strip of adhesive plaster. Always place the point of a pin in such a position that it cannot prick the patient, or the person dressing the limb, or be liable to draw out by using the limb; therefore, as a general rule, turn the head of the pin from the free end of the bandage, or towards the upper part of the limb. The best mode is to sew the bandage on. A few stitches will hold it more securely than pins can. 787. THE OBLIQUE BANDAGE is generally used for arms and legs, to retain dressings. 788. THE SPIRAL BANDAGE is generally applied to the trunk and extremities, but is apt to fall off even when very carefully applied; therefore we generally use another, called the recurrent, which folds back again. 789. THE RECURRENT BANDAGE is the best kind of bandage that we can employ for general purposes. The method of putting it on is as follows:Apply the end of the bandage that is free, with the outside of it next the skin, and hold this end with the finger and thumb of the left hand, while some one supports the heel of the patient; then with the right hand pass the bandage over the piece you are holding, and keep it crossed thus, until you can place your right forefinger upon the spot where it crosses the other bandage, where it must be kept firm. Now hold the roll of the bandage in your left hand, with the palm turned upwards, and taking care to keep that part of the bandage between your right forefinger, and the roll in your left hand, quite slack; turn your left hand over, and bring the bandage down upon the leg; then pass the roll under the leg towards your right hand, and repeat this until the leg is bandaged up to the knee, taking care not to drag the bandage at any time during the process of bandaging. When you arrive at the knee, pass the bandage round the leg in circles just below the knee, and pin it as usual. Bandaging is very easy, and if you once see any one apply a bandage properly, and attend to these rules, there will not be any difficulty; but bear one thing in mind, without which you will never put on a bandage even decently; and that is, never to drag or pull at a bandage, but make the turns while it is slack, and you have your right forefinger placed upon the point where it is to be folded down. When a limb is properly bandaged, the folds should run in a line corresponding to the shin-bone. Use, to retain dressings, and for varicose veins. 790. A BANDAGE FOR THE CHEST is always placed upon the patient in a sitting posture; and it may be put on in circles, or spirally. Use, in fractures of the ribs, to retain dressings, and after severe contusions. TO-MORROW, SHROUDED FOR A BED OF CLAY. 791. A BANDAGE FOR THE BELLY is placed on the patient as directed in the last, carrying it spirally from above downwards. Use, to compress the belly after dropsy, or retain dressings. 792. THE HAND IS BANDAGED by crossing the bandage over the back of the hand. Use, to retain dressings. 129 798. THE TRIANGULAR HANDKERCHIEF is made by folding it from corner to corner. Use, as a bandage for the head. Application.-Place the base round the head, and the short part hanging down behind, then tie the long ends over it. 799. THE LONG SQUARE is made by folding the handkerchief into three parts, by doubling it once upon itself. Use, as a bandage to the ribs, belly, &c. If one handkerchief is not long enough, sew two together. 800. THE CRAVAT is folded as usual with cravats. Use, as a bandage for the head, arms, legs, feet, neck, &c. 793. FOR THE HEAD, a bandage may be circular, or spiral, or both; in the latter case, commence by placing one circular turn just over the ears; then bring down from left to right, and round the head again, so as to alternate a spiral with a circular turn. Use, to retain dressings on the head or over the eye; but this form soon gets slack. The circular bandage is the best, cross-pressed. It is merely a handkerchief ing it over both eyes. twisted in its long diameter. 794. FOR THE FOOT.-Place the end just above the outer ankle, and make two circular turns, to prevent its slipping; then bring it down from the inside of the foot over the instep towards the outer part; pass it under the sole of the foot, and upwards and inwards over the instep towards the inner ankle, then round the ankle and repeat again. Use, to retain dressings to the instep, heel, or ankle. 795. FOR THE LEG AND FOOT, commence and proceed as directed in the preceding paragraph; then continue it up the leg as ordered in the Recurrent Bandage. 796. AS IT SOMETIMES HAPPENS that it is necessary to apply a bandage at once, and the materials are not at hand, it is desirable to know how to substitute something else that any one may apply with ease. This is found to be effected by handkerchiefs, and an experienced surgeon (Mr. Mayor) has paid great attention to this subject, and brought it to much perfection. It is to him, therefore, that we are indebted for most of these hints. 797. ANY ORDINARY HANDKERCHIEF will do; but a square of linen folded into various shapes answers better. The shapes generally required are as follows: The triangle, the long square, the cravat, and the cord. 801. THE CORD is used to compress vessels, when a knot is made in it, and placed over the vessel to be com 802. Two OR MORE HANDKERCHIEFS must sometimes be applied, as in a broken collar-bone, or when it is necessary to keep dressings under the arm. The bandage is applied by knotting the two ends of one handkerchief together, and passing the left arm through it, then passing another handkerchief under the right arm, and tying it. By this means we can brace the shoulders well back, and the handkerchief will press firmly over the broken collar-bone: besides, this form of bandage does not readily slip or get slack, but it requires to be combined with the sling, in order to keep the arm steady. 803. FOR AN INFLAMED BREAST that requires support, or dressings to be kept to it, tie two ends of the handkerchief round the neck, and bring the body of it over the breast, and pass it upwards and backwards under the arm of that side, and tie the ends around the neck. 804. AN EXCELLENT SLING is formed by placing one handkerchief around the neck, and knotting the two ends over the breast bone, then placing the other in triangle under the arm, to be supported with the base near to the hand; tie the ends over the handkerchief, and pin the top to the other part, after passing it around the elbow." |