KRS. r>17 



.surrounding parts, with a thick, oti'ensi\e discharge, often stp-aked with blood, the 

 application of a piece of lint, krpt constantly moist with a mixtuiv of spirit ami 

 water, will do good. It should not ! co\eivd with oiled-silk, and tin- leg should he 

 supported either on the sofa or on a chair. For ulcer> of the leg resulting from 

 enlarged or varicose veins, nothing is hetter than to use tin- red lotion, and then to 

 wind a bandage made of some elastic material all up the leg, beginning from \>< 

 The bandage should IK- put on in the morning, }>ef..re getting out of bed. An 

 elastic stocking will do equally well, and is less trouble, though of course it is more 

 expensive. 



Constitutional treatment is an important element in the cure of ulcers ; in 

 unless this be attended to the best regulated local measures may be employed in 

 vain. For the process of healing to go on satisfactorily, it is absolutely necessary 

 that the strength should be well supported. When the patient is weak and pulled 

 <lown, such remedies as quinine (Pr. 9 or 11), cod-liver oil, or Parrish's 

 Chemical Food should be used. When there is anaemia, or poorness of the 

 blood, a few doses of iron (Pr. 1 or I?) will often work wonders. When then- is any 

 suspicion of a gouty taint, either hereditary or acquired, the colchicum mixture 

 (Pr. 33) should be taken, and the strictest moderation must be employed in the use 

 of stimulants. When the patient has at any time even years before suffered 

 from constitutional syphilis, he should consider the possibility of his sore being due 

 to that cause, and would do well to resort for a time to the iodide of pota-sMiim 

 mixture (Pr. 32). In every case the nutrition must be carefully attended to. If a 

 patient is losing weight his ulcer will not heal. It is only when the nutrition is 

 capable of maintaining or increasing the bodily weight that the healing procc- 

 be expected to take place. The bowels must be kept freely open, and a warm bath 

 should be taken occasionally. 



There is no better mode of treating ulcers than by rest. When an ulcer proves 

 obstinate and will not heal, take a thorough rest, if it be only for a week. There is 

 no occasion to keep in bed, but no walking is admissible, and the leg should be con- 

 stantly supported, and should never be allowed to hang down. When rest positively 

 cannot be taken, bandaging is always a safe mode of treatment, the actual sore 

 being protected by damp lint from contact with the coarse fabric of the bandage. 

 A dirty bandage must never be used. The frequency with which the wound is 

 dressed will in a measure depend on the amount of discharge. As a rule, twice a 

 week is often enough. In the treatment of ulcers, as of so many other complaints, 

 undeviating cleanliness is of the utmost importance. The uncleanly habits of many 

 people, who allow their feet and legs to remain unwashed from week's end to week's 

 end, induces an imperfect vitality of the skin, which favours the formation of ulcers, 

 and renders them difficult to cure. Washing the lower extremities daily is one of 

 the most potent means of preventing and curing sores on the legs, restoring, as it 

 does, the lost vitality of the parts. 



There are many other modes of treatment that may be resorted to should these 

 measures fail. Finely-powdered cinchona bark dusted over foul, indolent, or 

 sloughing sores, and left to form a kind of poultice, not unfrequently promotes the 

 healing process. Glycerine of carbolic acid is a useful application for fetid sores, 



