BURNS AND BLISTEES 365 



Care of the nails. — Children are very apt to bite the nails. 

 This not only gives the hands a ragged appearance, but also is 

 apt to tear the nails loose from the bed and thus permit germs, 

 which collect in the dirt under the nails, to get into the blood 

 and produce sores. For this reason also it is better to remove this 

 dirt with a dull instrument, as a sharp blade is apt to cut the 

 skin. The epidermis around the base of the nail also tends to 

 grow to the nail, and as the nail lengthens the skin is torn and 

 hangnails are produced. When this is the case, they should be 

 cut back close to the skin. They may be prevented by loosen- 

 ing the fold of skin about the base of the nail with a dull instru- 

 ment. 



Burns and blisters. — Blisters are caused by friction or heat 

 which kills the lovv^er layers of the epidermis and permits the 

 lymph and water to collect between the dermis and the epidermis. 

 If this distended epidermis is pricked with a clean needle and 

 the water allowed to escape, the two surfaces will eventually knit 

 together again. Care must be taken not to tear the upper layer, 

 as this permits the dermis to become uncovered, and often pain- 

 ful sores result. Ordinarily the epidermis will not absorb poi- 

 sonous germs. When this layer is removed or the dermis is cut 

 the blood vessels are exposed, and in this case they should be 

 covered with some germicide material to prevent the absorption 

 of germs into the blood. The germs which cause lockjaw and 

 blood poisoning are very frequently absorbed from lack of pre- 

 cautions in this direction, and may even produce fatal results. 

 One of the simplest germicides for this purpose is a 1% to 2% 

 solution of carbolic acid. A cut should be cleansed first with 

 water and if dirty, with carbolic acid solution. Then bandage it 

 with cloths which are strictly clean. (Sm£|,U cuts should receive as 

 much care as large ones in this respect.) 



Burns tend to produce blisters and kill the skin cells. They also 

 bring about inflammation. All burned places should be kept from 

 contact with the air, because this treatment lessens the pain and 

 reduces the inflammation. For this purpose baking soda or vase- 

 line is a useful application. Acid burns should be treated with 

 weak alkaUes which neutralise the acids, while burns caused by 

 alkalies should receive neutralisation with weak acids. 



