210 
HINTS TO TRAVELLERS. 
are ended, probably have opportunities of saving the life of a comrade by 
his skill. Nothing can be more distressing than to see a man die from a 
haemorrhage which anyone who has studied the subject a little would be 
able to control in nine cases out of ten without much difficulty. I there¬ 
fore earnestly urge all travellers to gain as practical a knowledge of this 
subject as is possible, before leaving a civilised country. 
After-treatment of Wounds. 
A clean-cut wound, which has been completely closed and properly 
dressed, need not be dressed again until the fourth day; and the stitches 
need not be removed for seven days. 
On the other hand, a ragged or dirty wound, or one in which it has 
been necessary to insert a piece of gauze for the purpose of drainage, 
should be syringed out and dressed daily from the first. 
The important index to the state of a wound is the patient’s tempera¬ 
ture. If, on the third day after the wound was first dressed, the tempera¬ 
ture is normal, and subsequently remains so, the wound is probably 
healing well; but if the patient’s temperature is up to or beyond 
100° F., and the part is painful, there is probably some inflammatory 
change going on in the wound. The dressings should be taken off, and 
the wound examined. If the surrounding skin is red and shiny, and the 
limb swollen and tender, some of the stitches should be taken out, and the 
wound well syringed with an antiseptic lotion. This, with a good purge, 
such as calomel or Epsom salts, will probably remove all signs of inflam¬ 
mation; but still the wound must be dressed daily. If, however, the 
temperature still remains high, 100° to 101° F., or more, and the patient 
is restless and light-headed, all the stitches should be taken out, the 
wound opened up, and hot fomentations prepared with an antiseptic 
lotion, applied every four hours till the temperature comes down. Tonics 
of quinine and iron should be given. 
Erysipelas. 
Erysipelas is a diffusely-spreading inflammation of the skin, caused 
by the presence and activity of germs, which enter through a wounded 
surface. It is most frequently due to want of cleanliness in the treat¬ 
ment of wounds. Bright’s disease and gout predispose to this complaint. 
