WOUNDS AND INJURIES. 469 



be ready for immediate use. Two drachm doses of Arnica 1, in 

 2 ounces of water, should also be given to the patient two or three 

 times a day, as an internal remedy, unless Traumatic 'Fever of a 

 severe character should necessitate other treatment of a nature 

 to be fully described hereafter. 



Bandaqes. — Bandages, in numerous cases of wound, will 

 be found excellent auxiliaries to a successful issue. The best 

 kind for the purpose are linen ; a linen fabric is cooler than 

 woollen. Bandages for wounds should be from four to five 

 inches wide, and of a length suitable to the circumstances of 

 the case. They are procurable from every saddler, of a kind 

 purposely made for stable use. Home-made bandages are 

 objectionable, unless the borders are secured. Eaw edges, as 

 housewives call them, are a nuisance : the loose threads become 

 entangled amongst the sutures, where sutures are used ; or 

 they become insinuated into the sore, and thus excite unne- 

 cessary irritation. Bandages will be found of value to incised 

 wounds inflicted upon the lower part of a limb. Their appli- 

 cation will prevent undue swelling of the limb ; but at the 

 same time they have the disadvantage, particularly to wounds 

 not sutured, of causing them to remain raw longer than if left 

 alone. The advantages, however, must be placed against the 

 disadvantages, and the balance decided accordingly. When 

 applied to a wounded limb, bandages should always be put on 

 wet ; the hair should be wet also. AV^et bandages keep their 

 position better than dry ones ; they should be put on with 

 caution, the operator taking care to make them secure. To 

 bandage a limb properly requires practice. The bandage 

 should fit easy ; it should also press equally upon every part to 

 which it may be applied, and so arranged that ordinary motion 

 of the limb, so long as the patient remains in a stable or loose 

 box, will be unable to work it loose. 



