SECONDARY TREATMENT. 427 
which will hold hot water. Wrap these separately in flannel, 
or some other kind of cloth, to prevent them burning the 
patient, and place them at his feet, sides of the body, and 
back of the neck. If no water-bottles are available, boil a 
quantity of water and get flannel cloths; failing these, big 
towels will do. Seize the ends and twist them up. Then dip 
the middle part in the boiling water, wring thoroughly and wrap 
the patient’s feet in one of these hot cloths; put another over 
his abdomen and one at the back of his neck. These should be 
renewed after ten minutes or so. Be careful not to burn the 
patient’s skin. To avoid this, spread a thin cloth over the parts 
previous to the application of the hot fomentation. If the 
patient seems to be sinking, apply hot and cold fomentations 
alternately. Keep each on for five minutes, and persevere for 
half an hour or more, as this treatment tends strongly to rouse 
the patient’s nerve centres. These tomentations should be 
applied over the lower portion of the abdomen, the stomach, 
the back of the head, and the feet. At all of these centres the 
nervous system can be effectually acted upon. Cover up your 
patient immediately you apply the fomentations. 
In the early stages of snake venom poisoning, in addition to, 
or in the absence of any drug or serum treatment, the patient 
should be made to vomit any food there may be in his stomach. 
This can be accomplished by giving him a teaspoonful of mustard, 
or salt, stirred in a pint of warm water. If there is no mustard 
or salt, or any means of heating water, then make him drink a 
lot of water and thrust his finger down his throat, so as to irritate 
the entrance to the gullet. This will induce vomiting. The 
mustard and warm water is the best, for it strongly irritates the 
lining membrane of the stomach, causing it to pour out a watery 
mucous, in which there may be some of the venom, which is 
harmless when inside the stomach. Then a quick-acting pur- 
gative should be given, such as castor oil. This flushes out the 
bowels, and also causes a watery discharge through the walls 
of the intestines, which will also tend to drain off some of the 
venom in the blood. Then, every effort should be made to induce 
perspiration. The patient can be soaked in a bath of hot water, 
adding still hotter water, as he is able to bear it. The water 
should be as hot as he can endure. In ten or fifteen minutes 
take him out, and instantly cover him with blankets, 
