WOUNDS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 487 
in its action if placed in a wooden pail or on an oily or greasy sur- 
face. It-is used in the strength of 1 part of bichlorid to 1,000 to 
5,000 parts of water, according to the delicacy of the tissue to which 
it is applied. (2) Carbolic acid in from 2 to 5 per cent solution is 
used on infected wounds and for cleaning instruments, dressings, and 
sponges. It unites well with oil and is preferred to the bichlorid 
on a greasy surface. A 5 per cent solution in oil is often used under 
the name of carbolized oil. (3) Aluminum acetate is an efficient and 
cheap antiseptic, and is composed of 1 part alum and 5 parts acetate 
of lead, mixed in 20 parts of water. (4) Boric acid is good, in a 2 to 
4 per cent solution, to cleanse wounds and wash eyes. Compound . 
cresol may be used in a 1 to 3 per cent solution in water. Iodoform 
is one of the most used of the antiseptics, and it also acts as an ano- 
dyne, stimulates granulation, and checks wound secretion. A very 
efficacious and inexpensive powder is made by taking 5 parts of 
iodoform and 95 parts of sugar, making what is called iodoform 
sugar. Tannic acid is a useful drug in the treatment of wounds, as 
it arrests hemorrhage, checks secretion, and favors the formation of 
ascab. A mixture of 1 part tannic acid and 3 parts iodoform is good 
in suppurating wounds. Iodol, white sugar, ground and roasted 
coffee, and powdered charcoal are all used as protectives and absorb- 
ents on suppurating surfaces. More depends on the care and the 
method of application of the drug than on the drug itself. On 
aseptic wounds use only those antiseptics that do not irritate the 
tissue. If care is used in the application of the antiseptic, corrosive 
sublimate or carbolic acid is to be recommended. In order to keep 
air from,the wound and to absorb all wound secretions rapidly, a 
dressing should be applied. If the wound is aseptic, the dressing 
should be likewise, such as cotton gauze, sterile cotton, oakum, or tow. 
This dressing should be applied with uniform pressure at all times 
and secured by a bandage. Allow it to remain for a week or ten 
days if the wound is aseptic or if the dressing does not become loose 
or misplaced or become drenched with secretions from the wound, or 
if pain, fever, or loss of appetitie does not develop. The dressing 
should then be removed, the wound treated antiseptically, and a 
sterilized dressing applied. 
HEALING UNDER A SCAB. 
This often occurs in small superficial wounds that have been kept 
aseptic. In order that a scab may form, the wound must not gap, 
secrete freely, or become infected with germs. The formation of 
scab is favored by astringents and styptics, such as tannic acid, iodo- 
form, and 5 per cent solution of zinc chlorid. In ease of fistulous 
withers, open joints, or other large, hollow wounds that can not be 
dressed, antisepsis may be obtained by warm-water irrigation with 
