TREATMENT OP WOUNDS 85 



tions. Water from the well or hydrant brought in the 

 milk pail or stable bucket, no matter how clean looking 

 it may be, is a sure carrier of infection. To add to this 

 water an antiseptic drug does not improve matters as 

 much as is generally supposed; the solution is still an 

 infection carrier of the most certain sort. Experimen- 

 tal studies of the viability of various microbes in the 

 different solutions used in surgical operations tell plainly 

 enough why wound infection from this source is so com- 

 mon. Sterilized water held in a sterilized basin without 

 any antiseptic drug is much safer than medicated water 

 that is laden with bacteria, as almost all waters are. 



Analyzing the reason why sterilized w^ater is still so 

 rarely found in veterinary operations, I find that the 

 principal argument against the use of this valuable and 

 very inexpensive product is that water boiled just as 

 the animal is about to be operated upon is always 

 brought to the scene of the operation too hot to be 

 handled, and as it does not cool very fast there is always 

 an inclination, in the haste of getting through with the 

 work, to cool it off with cold water. This of course 

 spoils everything; and knowing this, the country vet- 

 erinarian soon abandons his effort to stick strictly to 

 this product as a menstruum for his solutions. 



It is, however, worth while insisting that every drop 

 of water to be used in any important operation should 

 be boiled for fifteen minutes and brought out in the 

 original vessel. The time allowed for it to cool is time 

 well spent. In my rural operations I frequently fill the 

 large wash boiler with water, place in it the basins, 

 dipper, bandages, and sponges to be used, and then boil 

 all together for fifteen minutes. In the meantime the 

 instruments are being boiled in the regular instrument 

 sterilizer — an apparatus that every veterinarian should 

 carry with him everywhere. It requires about fifteen 



