ULC 



ULC 



481 



hard or callous, they must be pared 

 down with a knife, and afterwards 

 rubbed with the caustic. 



" Where soft fungous flesh be- 

 gins to rise, it should carefully be 

 suppressed in time, otherwise the 

 cure will go on but slowly. If it 

 has already sprouted above the sur- 

 face, pare it down with a knife, 

 and rub the remainder with a bit 

 of caustic ; and to prevent it? rising 

 again, sprinkle the sore with equal 

 parts of burnt alum, and red pre- 

 cipitate; or wash with the subli- 

 mate water, and dress with dry lint 

 even to tlie surface, and then roll 

 over a compress of linen as tight 

 as can be borne ; for a proper de- 

 gree of pressure, «with mild appli- 

 cations, will always oblige these 

 spongy excrescences to subside, 

 but without bandage the strongest 

 will not so well succeed. 



" All sinuses, or cavities, should 

 be laid open as soon as discovered, 

 after bandages have been ineffec- 

 tually tried; but where the cavity 

 penetrates deep into the muscles, 

 and a counter opening is impracti- 

 cable or hazardous ; where, by a 

 continuance, the integuments of 

 the muscles are constantly dripping 

 and melting down ; in these cases 

 injections may be used, and will 

 frequently be attended with suc- 

 cess. A decoction of colcothar 

 boiled in forge water, or solution 

 of lapis medicamentosus in lime 

 water, with a fifth part of hon^.7 

 and tincture of myrrh, may be first 

 tried, injecting three or four ounces 

 twice a day, or some rosin melted 

 down with oil of turpentine may be 

 used for this purpose. If these 

 should not succeed, the following, 

 61 



which is of a sharp and caustic na- 

 ture, is recommended on Mr. Gib- 

 son's experience. 



Take of Roman vitriol half an 

 ounce, dissolve a pint of water, 

 then decant and pour off gently 

 into a large quart bottle ; add 

 half a pint of campborafed spirit 

 of witie, tlie same quantity of 

 the best vinegar, and two ounces 

 of iEgyptiacum. 



" This mixture is also very suc- 

 cessfully applied to ulcerated grea- 

 sy heels, which it will both cleanse 

 and dry up. 



" These sinuses, or cavities, fre- 

 quently degenerate into fistulae, 

 that is, grow pipey, having the in- 

 side thickened, and lined as it were 

 with a horny callous substance. In 

 order to their cure, they must be 

 laid open, and the hard substance 

 all cut away. Where this is im- 

 practicable, scarify them well, and 

 trust to the precipitate medicine 

 made strong, rubbing now and then 

 with caustic, butter of antimony, of 

 equal parts of quicksilver and aqua 

 fortis. 



" When a rotten or foul bone is 

 an attendant on an ulcer, the flesh 

 is generally loose and flabby, the 

 discharge oily, thin and stinking, 

 and the bone discovered to be ca- 

 rious, by its feeling rough to the 

 probe passed through the flesh. In 

 order to a cure, the bone must be 

 laid bare, that the rotten part of it 

 be removed : for which purpose, 

 destroy the loose flesh, and dress 

 with dry lint; or the dossils may 

 be pressed out of tincture of myrrh 

 or euphorbium. The throwing off 

 the scale is generally a work of 

 nature, which is effected in more 



