368 
DR. ANACKER. 
as a poultice in inflamed conditions of external and internal parts 
and organs of the animal body. In making these applications 
care should be taken to renew them as soon as they become warm, 
and that they be continued until the inflamed tension in the 
affected parts is relieved and the pain subdued. 
The water itself should be renewed as soon as it gets warm. 
The addition of vinegar and neutral salts lowers the temperature 
of the water and increases its solvent power, which is of import¬ 
ance, in cases cf bruises, for the absorption of coagulated blood. 
Applications of cold water are used also in cooling the head in 
inflammation of the brain, in inflammation of the eyes, in pneu¬ 
monia, in peritonitis, in inflamed and paralytic conditions of the 
spinal cord, and in enteritis by using enemata of cold water. 
Applications of cold water are of vital importance in high fevers 
(106° Fahrenheit), because they reduce the temperature of 
the body and increase the strength of the patient. They also 
prove very beneficial in tympanitis, by condensing the gases 
present in the digestive canal and toning the seemingly paralyzed 
and weakened muscles of the intestines, and in this manner help 
to expel the gas, per os or anum. 
Leister’s cooling apparatus, composed of a number of small 
flexible metallic tubes, fixed or bandaged to the injured part and 
admitting a continuous stream of cold water, has been used with 
success in laminitis, in sprains of the fetlock joint, in inflamma¬ 
tion of the sinews, muscles or articulations of the extremities, and 
in cases of fracture of the bones. 
Oxygenated water, or the peroxide of hydrogen, destroys bac¬ 
teria and stops fermentation. Diluted it may be used in the 
treatment of old and indolent wounds and ulcers, suppurating 
ears and genitals, in catarrh of the bladder and in diphtheria. It 
should, whenever possible, be applied on compresses and covered 
with oiled silk to prevent evaporation and decomposition. Damp 
heat relaxes the tissues and promotes absorption, relieves the in¬ 
flamed tension, and consequently subdues the pain, besides render¬ 
ing the parts to which damp heat has been applied more plethoric, 
because the heat relaxes the vascular membranes and blood enters 
more freely. The result of this is a more active circulation of 
