FISTULAS. 481 



Every effort should now be made to prevent the formation of an 

 abscess at the point of injury. Wounds caused by nails, gravel, or 

 any other foreign body which may have become lodged in the sole of 

 the foot should be opened at once from below so as to allow free exit 

 to all purulent discharges. Should the injury have occurred directly 

 to the coronet the application of cold fomentations may prove efficient 

 in preventing the formation of an abscess. 



When a quitter becomes fully established it should be treated pre- 

 cisely as a fistula situated in any other part of the body ; that is, the 

 sinuses should all be opened from their lowest extremities so as to 

 afford constant drainage. All fragments of diseased tissue should be 

 trimmed away, antiseptic solutions injected, and, after covering the 

 wound with a pad of oakum saturated with some good antiseptic 

 wash, the whole foot may be carefully covered with clean bandages, 

 which will afford valuable assistance to the healing process by exclud- 

 ing all dirt from the affected part. 

 H. Doc. 795, 59-2 31 



