HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3201, 21 July 1915, Page 76

HEALTH COLUMN.

BURNS AND SCALDS. In life wo have to take r.sks —tnat is part of the game. And no one cun play ins part mamully who is not prepared to do th.s, when'it .s reasonable and nocdtui so to do, when the chances of reward or benefit, are sufficiently in one’s favour, or when jt would be pusillanimous or cowardly not to face the music. The wealthy travellers on the unfortunate Lusitania doubtless viewed matters in this 1 ght the chances scorned greatly in their favour. And, however bitterly we deplore the sad end of so many valuable _ lives,- we cannot but profoundly admire their pluck, and even regard with the deepest respect their bravo constancy and determination not to bo frightened out of what they had resolved to do But for all that t is unwise and oven foolish to take risks that involve no appreciable reward in case of success, and that are oas Iv avoidable. Andree went out io reek the North Pole. At the last minute some of his apparatus broke, and the balloons had to go some hundred feet higher than had been intended—a serious matter in such a temperature. He would not pause for repair?. Consequently he and his comrades were never seen again. 'I hat was bravo indeed, hut at the Shine tuns it was utter fool-hardiness. This may seem a long way from the titular subject of our article. But so many burns and scalds are the result of sheer carolessn ss and neglect—particularly where young children are concerned. People leave them playing about the fire in cold weather without taking the most ordinary common-sense precautions that they shall not go near. Then comes injury, possibly death. As a student in hospital, I well remember the numbers carried in on a frosty morning, and mostly burnt all over. Although the parents were mostly poor and of the labouring classes, few probably could not have to set up some sort of fire-guard, or to have otherwise kept their infants out of harm’s way. They need not have taken useless and uncalled for risks. The Three Degrees of a Scald.— The ordinary mimics produced by scalding fluid or burn fall into three categories. You. have first the trivial one, which we all feel after grasping a hot kettle-handle or poker. It smarts and hurts, but the tissues are not at all damaged, and soon recover. You case and even end the pain, you Wee, by the old-fashioned plan of holding the part for a few minutes as near the fire as you can bear it —the heat hurts at the time, but speedily “ draws out ” the smarting sensation. The second degree of burn or scald is when a blister follows —the outer skin or epidermis is raised above the true skin by effusion cf serum. When tne blister has appeared, the best plan is to prick it and evacuate the fluid contents; then tear off fhe loose skin; then dress with lint spread thickly with zinc ointment. The third degree is when you find the tissues destroyed more or less extensively; and sores, ulcers, actual gangrene follow. Here you have not only the local lesion to deal with, but also the shock to the nervous system, more or loss grave, especially if the sufferer happens to be a young child. Also ulceration of the duodenum, the first n-art of * lie small intestine, is prone to supervene eventually. —■ Treatment. — I consider the best plan in every case of severe or extensive scald or burn _ is to paint, the affected part with a solution of nitrate of silver (lunar caustic), of the strength of 10.15 grains to the fluid ounce of distilled water. The application smarts at the time, but diminishes shock, and leaves the tissues in a far bettor condition for recovery than they would otherwise be; also stops the subsequent pain. It seals up, as it were, the damaged parts against the harmful influence of the air. • The carron oil, linseed oil, olive oil, etc., you commonly see employed for these lesions dates from the time of our greatgrandmothers, probably even from one far earlier; and arc of a quite grandmotherlycharacter altogether—although their use has been sanctioned by the custom of generations. The best one can say of the numberloss greasy preparations in use is that they are innocuous. Otherwise their effect for good is nil. They neither ease pain, mitigate shock, nor lessen the after-conse-quences on the tissues. Qn the other hand, a favourite remedy with the medical profession some years aSv> was lint dipped in a saturated watery solution of bicarbonate of soeja, which would, to a certain extent; act as dees the silver-nitrate. SUNSTROKE. The descriptions of sunstroke in medical text-books are somewhat vague, and indicate rather that other maladies .are apt to bo included in the designation—e.g., hysteria and the effects of too much alcohol, eleven improper food in a hot climate. Two varieties of sun or heat stroke are commonly reckoned. One follows the direct action of the sun’s rays, as when a soldier is on a tedious march when the sun is high, or when one rashly stands under it with head uncovered. The second is rather heat than sunstroke (“heat apoplexy,’’ it is often called) —may come on at midnight—following prolonged exposure to a very high temperature. Exhaustion and fatigue greatly predispose, and must always be sedulously avoided if possible. There is sudden loss of consciousness, with high fever. Cold water should immediately be dashed upon the head and body, but most upon the former. If ico be procurable, an ice-bag should be applied to the head and nape of the nock. The patient should be carefully tended in the most cool and airy place available. A USEFUL EMETIC. ■Supposing someone to swallow (whether inadvertently or purposely) a poisonous substance, the first thing usually needed is to bring this up again. The safest and at the same time handiest form of emetic is a tablcspponful of mustard and tablespoouful of common salt in a tumblerful of water. There are plenty of others, such as wine of ipecacuanha; but they are more or less depressing. Whereas, after drinking the above, and voiding the contents of the stomach, tho feeling is rather stimulating than otherwise. Such an emetic dose, taken once daily for a week or so, constitutes valuable medicinal treatment for the rather prevalent malady of jaundice. ANTIDOTES TO POISONS. About the most universally applicable form of antidote’ is white of egg (albumen).

I do not know that any special care is needed to exclude the yolk (vitellin), which sof pretty nun h the same composition. The proper thing- to do in a hurry under such circumstances—when, for instance, you have inadvertently swallowed carbolic acid in m’stake for port wine, or have made some similar error—is to rush for eggs, swallow two or three raw, and then have recourse to tl'.c above emetic, with plenty of milk to follow. .For oxalic acid (used for cleaning straw hats and removing inkstuns), so commonly at hand in the house, chalk or lime scraped from the coiling is the appropriate antidote. For arsenic (arsenious acid) dialysed iron is best; but iron in any shape—o.g., ironrust scraped from boons —will do, and next to this magnesia. For corrosive sublimate the albumen of eggs as above. For laudanum, the strongest tea of coffee, and every possible means of keeping the patient awake. For belladonna, an immediate emetic as above; and afterwards strong, black coffee. For aconite, 20 to 30 drops of tincture of digitalis (foxglove); followed by plenty of stimulants Of course, those are only emergency hints; and must not be taken for more. A doctor must always be sent for immediately trouble is found. In the great majority of cases a suicidal attempt is the result of sudden impulse; and the patient, especially if a woman, will give worlds the next moment to retrace the fatal stop.