, MOUTH, OR ORAL BATH. 419 



fill in various diseases of the parts. There should not be much 

 force used in this way. Immersing them also in water is often use- 

 ful. The water should not, in general, be very cold, tepid or warm 

 being often the best. 



MOUTH, OR ORAL BATH. 



For inflammation of the gums, mouth, throat and palate, in 

 slimy secretions from the throat and stomach, in toothache, catarrh, 

 colds and chronic hoarseness, garglings and baths for the mouth are 

 of great service. Pauley, a merchant of Vienna, has been thought 

 singular for his zeal in recommending this bath. Clergymen and 

 others who suifer hoarseness by much speaking, will find that holding 

 very cold water in the mouth until it begins to grow warm, and then 

 ejecting it, and by frequently repeating the process, much benefit 

 will be obtained. For falling or elongation of the palate, in which 

 it is now so much of a professional hobby to clip off the part, the 

 gargling sufficiently with cold water will be found a never failing 

 remedy. Coughs and tightness in the chest may often be essentially 

 relieved by this bath. In mucous secretions from the throat and 

 stomach, by ejecting the water a number of times, it will surprise 

 those who have not witnessed the remedy to see the amount of slimy 

 secretion thrown off. 



WET COMPRESSES. 



A compress consists of two or three folds of soft linen or cotton 

 wrung out of cold, hot or tepid water, applied to the affected part, 

 and covered by a piece of oil-silk, gutta-percha foil, India-rubber cloth 

 or woolen, which should project a little beyond the wet cloth on all 

 sides, so as to prevent evaporation from the linen. In parts subject 

 to considerable motion, as the throat and neck, the edges of the oil- 

 silk should be folded in over the wet linen so as to prevent its 

 exposure to the air. For persons with feeble reaction, the compress 

 may be wrung out of warm water before applying it, and in colic 

 and other painful diseases the hot compress is most frequently 

 indicated. 



Compresses are generally best applied at night, as it is often 

 impossible to keep them in close apposition while moving about. 

 After removing them in the morning, the parts should be sponged 

 with cold or tepid water to restore the tone of the skin. 



Abdominal Compress This consists of two or three 

 thicknesses of linen, from about six to nine inches wide and long 

 enough to go round the whole body, or the linen may only cover 

 the front part of the abdomen, or even only the seat of uneasiness; 

 this should be wrung out of cold, tepid, warm, or hot water, covered 

 with oil-silk, and secured by a flannel or linen bandage with strings. 

 This may be worn several nights in succession, the parts being well 

 sponged with cold water, and rubbed with a coarse towel on removing 



