Medical Articles

Adherent Pericarditis

Following dry pericarditis or pericarditis with an exudate, ...

Scarlatina Simplex Or Simple Scarlet-fever

In the _mildest form_ of the disease, called _scarlatina simp...

Illness The Root Of

In treating any trouble it is well to get to the root of it. O...

Our Relations With Others

EVERY one will admit that our relations to others sho...

Quacks And Quackery Continued

An English physician, who practised during the early part o...

The Blue-glass Mania

As illustrative of the power of the imagination, the so-cal...

The Unrelenting Boredom Of Fasting

Then there's the unrelenting boredom of fasting. Most people ...

Decline

See Consumption. ...

Resume Of Emergency Tracheotomy

The following notes should be memorized. 1. Essentials: Kn...

Etiology

The cause of an irregularly acting heart in an adult may be o...

Specular Esophagoscopy

Inspection of the hypopharynx and upper esophagus is readily...

Spine Misshapen

Often in the case of delicate infants or children, the bones o...

Punctures Case Xiii

Am old man applied leeches to the instep for inflammation occ...

Menorrhagia - Profuse Menses - Flowing

For this affection, _Ipecac_ and _Hamamelis_ are the specific...

Imaginary Troubles

These are of two kinds, the one purely imaginary, the other wh...

Tuberculosis

In the non-cicatricial forms, galvanocaustic puncture applie...

Acetic Acid

Brown recommends diluted _Acetic Acid_ as a specific against ...

Bronchial Stenosis

Stenosis of one or more bronchi results at times from cicatr...

Diet And Corpulence

A tendency to obesity should always be carefully checked by at...

Punctures Case X

Mr. Worth's daughter, aged six, was thrown down by a dog and ...

Burns And Scalds

Category: ADMINISTRATION OF REMEDIES.
Source: An Epitome Of Homeopathic Healing Art

No matter what the nature and extent of the burn may be, the very best
of all medicines of which I have any knowledge, is _Soap_. If the parts
affected, are immediately immersed or enveloped in Soft Soap, the pain
will be greatly lessened, and the inflammation that would otherwise
follow, will be essentially modified, if not entirely prevented. It acts
like magic; no one who has never tried it can have any idea of its
potency for the relief of pain, together with the prevention of bad
consequences following severe burning. Under the influence of the _Soap_
applications, burns and scalds will often be rendered comparatively
insignificant injuries. Instead of endangering the life of the sufferer
from the excessive pain, or the ulceration, or gangrene and sloughing
that would follow if the pain in the first instance does not destroy
life, the pain ceases, or becomes bearable in a short time, and either
little or no suppuration or sloughing takes place, or the sore assumes
the appearance of healthy suppuration, and heals kindly--avoiding those
unsightly deformities that so commonly follow severe burning. If
practicable, the soap, as before suggested, should be applied
immediately after the burn, the sooner the better. The part may be put
into soft soap, or cloths saturated with it can be wrapped around or
covered over the affected surface, to any desirable extent. The parts
should not be exposed to the air for a single moment, when possible to
prevent it. During the first two or three days, dressings need not be
removed, unless they cause irritation after the first severe pain has
subsided. They should be kept all of the time moist, and as far as
practicable, in a condition to be impervious to the air.

When it is necessary to remove them, let the affected surface be
immersed in strong soap suds, at a temperature of about 75 or 80 deg., and
the dressing removed while it is under water, and others applied while
in the same situation. In ordinary cases, however, even of extensive
burns, after the fever consequent upon it has subsided, and the part is
tolerably free from pain and smarting, the dressings may be removed in
the air, but others should be in readiness and applied as speedily as
possible. The soap dressings are to be continued from the beginning
until the inflammation has subsided and the sore has lost all symptoms
that distinguish it from an ordinary healthy suppurating sore.

After the first few days, or in case of a slight burn at the beginning,
an excellent mode of applying the soap, is to make a strong thick
"_Lather_" with soft water and good soap, such as Castile, or any other
good hard soap, as a barber would for shaving, and apply that to the
affected part with a soft shaving brush; apply it as carefully as
possible, so as to cover every part of the surface, and go over it
several times, letting the former coat dry a little before applying
another, forming a thick crust impervious to the air. In small burns,
and even in pretty extensive and severe ones, this is the best mode of
application, and the only one necessary.

In many cases of very severe and dangerous burns, under the influence of
this application, the inflammation subsides, and after a week or more,
the crust of lather comes off, exposing the surface smooth and well.
Although it is important to apply the _soap_ early, and the case does
much better if that has been done, still I have found it the best remedy
even as late as the second or third day. In such a case, the _lather_
application is the best.

For the fever and general nervous disturbance, _Aconite_ and _Bell._
should be given alternately, as often as every half hour, and the
_Aconite_ should be given in appreciable doses; it acts powerfully as an
anodyne. The soap treatment, or at least, the mode of applying it was
first suggested to me by Dr. J. TIFFT, of Norwalk, Ohio, some six or
seven years ago, since which time I have had opportunities of testing
its virtues in all forms of burns and scalds, some of which were of the
severest and most dangerous character, and I am quite sure in several
cases, no other remedy or process known to the medical profession, could
have relieved and restored as this did.

The application of finely pulverized common salt, triturated with an
equal part of superfine flour, acts very beneficially on burns. It seems
to have the specific effect to "extract the heat," literally putting out
the fire. It is particularly useful for deep burns where the surface is
abraded. Some may suppose this would be severe and cause too much pain
when applied to a raw surface, but so far from that being the case, it
is a most soothing application. It often so changes the condition of
even the severest burns, in a short time, as to render them of no more
importance and no more dangerous than ordinary abrasions to the same
extent, by causes unconnected with heat. _Urtica urens_ is directed for
burns, and is useful, but the _Urtica dioica_ is better. For


Chilblains,

That follow freezing or chilling the feet, causing most distressing
uneasiness and itching of the feet and toes, take these remedies, _Rhus_
and _Apis_, the former at night and the latter in the morning. In bad
cases, they should be used once in six hours. Applications of _Oil of
Arnica_ to the affected parts at night, warming them before a fire, will
serve greatly to palliate the sufferings, and frequently effect a
perfect cure. The _Urtica Dioica_ will relieve recent cases,
immediately, and is one of the best remedies for the chronic affection.
It should be taken at the 2d dilution, and the tincture applied to the
affected part every night.





Next: Hoarseness
Previous: Erysipelas

			Report Privacy
	SHARE	BOOKMARK

Viewed 279