ToVim^im-}        Uses  of  "Wood  Pulp"  Sheets.  .527 
then  lightly  wring  it  out,  very  lightly,  and  apply.  The  wood  pulp 
sheet  will  absorb  and  hold  from  four  to  five  times  its  weight  of 
water,  and,  since  heat  and  moisture  are  the  desiderata  in  poultices, 
we  have  them  here  in  a  simple,  cleanly  form.  No  cloths  are  needed, 
no  cooking,  no  stirring  and  spreading  on  cloth,  just  a  soaking  in 
hot  water.  And  the  nicest  part  is  the  total  absence  of  the  mess 
inevitable  to  making  flaxseed  meal  poultices,  although  there  is,  too, 
a  great  economy  of  time  and  trouble.  I  sometimes  find  it  advisable 
to  put  a  piece  of  oiled  muslin  over  the  sheet  to  help  retain  the  heat 
and  moisture. 
When  the  "  poultice  "  begins  to  get  cold,  take  it  off,  wring  out 
the  water  and  soak  it  again  in  hot  water,  and  so  on,  indefinitely.  I 
have  used  the  same  sheet  of  wood  pulp  for  two  days'  poulticing,  in 
the  hands  of  an  ignorant  man  at  that,  my  instructions  to  him  being 
u  to  soak  the  plaster  in  hot  water  whenever  it  got  cold,  and  put  it 
on  again,"  and  he  said  it  "  worked  all  right."  By  the  way,  every 
physician  who  has  had  the  annoyance  and  trouble  of  being  com- 
pelled to  leave  an  all-important  matter  of  poulticing  to  an  ignorant 
person  will  appreciate  a  way  that  will  allow  ot  no  loophole  for  mis- 
takes and  failures. 
Any  desired  degree  of  softness  can  be  had  by  regulating  the  time 
of  soaking.  As  a  precaution,  be  sure  and  soak  the  pulp  long 
enough  at  the  start. 
If  it  is  desired  to  have  an  antiseptic  action  in  connection  with 
the  poulticing,  mercuric  chloride,  carbolic  acid,  or  any  water-solu- 
,  ble  germicide  can  be  dissolved  in  the  water  to  the  proper  strength, 
and  then  the  drug  will  penetrate  into  every  portion  of  the  sheet 
and  give  you  an  antiseptic  dressing  as  well  as  a  poultice. 
As  far  as  I  have  experimented,  I  know  of  no  drug  possessing 
antiseptic  properties  which  is  incompatible  with  wood  pulp,  as  it  is 
almost  pure  cellulose.  To  sterilize  a  dry  sheet,  place  it  in  an  ordi- 
nary stove  oven  and  leave  it  there  a  few  moments ;  it  will  not  hurt 
the  pulp  if  it  does  kill  the  germs.  And,  by  the  way,  there  is  very 
little  germ  material  in  wood  pulp  ;  the  most  omnivorous  bacteria  can 
find  little  to  eat  in  such  a  substance. 
In  lieu  of  a  charcoal  dressing  for  foul  ulcers  and  sores,  char  the 
surface  of  a  sheet,  say  to  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  scrape  the  burnt  side 
lightly,  then  apply.  You  will  then  have  a  deodorant  as  well  as  ab- 
sorbent dressing. 
