MEDICAL NOTES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 5 February 1913, Page 3

MEDICAL NOTES

BORACIC ACID. The cnly known compound of oxygen and boron is extremely useful in surgery. It, may be used as r. ducting powder for almost si 11 cases in which iodoform is used. It is pleasant to use. and has no smell. Boracic lint, lint impregnated with the acid, makes an admirable dressing (when soaked in hot water and jcovered wiUi son-c waterproof tissue) / for all forms of foul ulcers, as a poultice for boils, etc. Many toilet powders are composed chiefiv of this substance. No better dusting powder than a mixture of boracic acid and powdered starch (equal parts of each) can be used. It can do no J possible harm, is non-poisonous, and is i pleasant to use. Boracic acid is also a useful constituent in a tooth powder. I Its solution in hot water is antiseptic, | and, unlike carbolic acid, is perfectly safe. Boracic aci<j has the ad van tag 3 also of being cheap. j

DRY FEET. The importance of keeping the feet drv cannot be too much insisted on. Although it only entails a little trouble to Tender footgear waterproof, how fewpersons w:!l take it. A writer speaks with authority of the value of the following proscription for preserving boots and shoes and enabling them to resist moisture :—Take lib each of tallow and resin, put these in a pot over a gentl" fire. AVhen melted and weil mixed, brush the composition with a painter'? brush over the boots till neither the leather nor the sole will absorb rrore. If it be desired that the boots should be polished almost a t once, dissolve loz of wax in a. tea-spoc/nful of turpentine and lamp black. This should bs applied a day or two after the dressing, but not before the fire. Thus the outride leather will have a coat of wax alone and ehine like a. mirror. Never kt children go Übod with cold feet. Warm legs and feeensure a good night and prevent suf fering and. possibly illness. Neither children nor adults can have restful nights if the feet are cold, hence the value of wool sleeping-socks.

CARING FOR THE EAR.. The upper passage of the ear does not need regular clearing by its owner. Nature undertakes the task. and in a healthy ear do~s it perfectly. Her means for clearing the ear is the wax, which dries up into thin scales, and peels off and falls away imperceptibly. In health the passage of the ear is never dirty, but an attempt to clean it will infallibly rrake it sore. Washing the ear out with seap ard water is bad ; it keeps the wax moist when it ought to become dry and scaly, and makes it absorb dust. But the most hurtful thing is the introduction of a corner of a tow-el screwed up and twisted around. This proceeding irritates the passage and presses down the wax and Hakes of skin upon the membrane of the tympanum, producing pain, inflammation, and deaf-, ness. The washing should only extend to the outer surface, as far as the ringers can reach. An old doctcr used to say', "You will bs on the safe side if vou don't put anything smaller than your thumb in your ear.''

TO STOP NOSE BLEEDING. Bleeding of the nose, although not usually a ver- v - serious matter, is nevertheless a 'most disagreeable affair. It may result either from an accident or from some internal cause. A slight case may be stopped by holding the nostrils tightly immediately beneath the bridge of the n..se. In a severe case, however, the first thing to do is to get the patient into a recumbent position. If this can |be managed in a cocl place, so much the better. The old remedy of putting a large to the back of the neck is a good one, although any. other' cold object will suffica equally well. The application of ice, wherever possible, to the bridge of the nose is an excellentremedy. It can be applied best if placed in a rubber bag, such as a sponge-bag. which will then be placed on the pirt mentioned. Syringing the nostrils with very cold water is also at times effective. Needless to say, when all remedies have failed and. the bleeding continues, it is a case for a medical man, who will probably plug the nostril 3. Broken blood-vessels are at all times troublesome qnd dangerous, and often cause blood to flow into the cavity of the chest and stomach. In these cases the sufferer becomes, very pale and faint, the skin is moist and cool, while both pulse and breathing se?m irregular. As in the case of nose-bleeding, it is well to get the patient in a recumbent position. Tight clothing should be loosened, and the face should be fanned. Ice should be sucked if it can be obtained. Otherwise 'the sipping cf water and vinegar must serve as a substitute.