253 



poultice all night ; next morning, if not serious, it will be 

 quite well, neither blister nor wounds appearing. 



In all cases of burns and scalds, it is necessary to ob- 

 serve, that if fever should ensue, gently laxative medi- 

 cines ought to be administered. The best are castor oil 

 and epsom salts. 



If the injury arising from the scald or burn be very 

 severe, suppuration should be promoted by fomentations 

 and emollient poultices. The deformity or constriction 

 of muscles and tendons, which arises from burns and 

 scalds, is to be obviated as much as possible by bandage 

 and position. Particular attention must be paid to posi- 

 tions where joints are concerned, and in burns in the 

 neck. In all, the limbs should be as much as possible 

 in their natural situation of rest ; but the head, in par- 

 ticular, should be kept in a proper position. 



EXTENSIVE BURNS AND SCALDS. 



In several bad cases of burns and scalds, the topical 

 application of well-carded cotton wool has succeeded in 

 effecting a cure in a few days. For this discovery we 

 are indebted to chance. The child of a negro in the 

 West Indies, in consequence of falling into boiling water, 

 was most dreadfully scalded ; the mother, being ignorant 

 of any mode of treatment, immediately laid the child on 

 the cotton wool she had been carding, and covered it over 

 with it. The cotton wool adhered closely to the injured 

 parts, and being caked by the discharge, completely de- 

 fended the surface from the action of the atmosphere. In 

 the course of a few days the whole peeled off with the 

 injured skin, leaving a healthy surface covered with a 

 new cuticle. The same treatment has been adopted in 

 Scotland, and elsewhere, in several bad cases of burns 

 and scalds, with singular happy results. When the dis- 



