A manual of minor surgery and bandaging for the use of house surgeons, dressers and junior practitioners.

  • Christopher Heath
Date:
1862
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A manual of minor surgery and bandaging for the use of house surgeons, dressers and junior practitioners. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    whicli is easiest, and whicli relaxes all tlie parts most, must be the best at first; but, should iuilainmatiou come on, care must bo taken to lAacc the limb in a position in Avhicli it may ultimately be useful, should tlie motion in the joint be lost or impaired. Irriga- tion witb cold water is the readiest and most certain method of applying cold to a wounded joint. IBruises and contusions form a considerable portion of out-patient practice. They present every possible variety, and it is generally from fear of some more severe lesion having occurred, rather than for the treatment of the bruise itself, that the patient applies to the house-surgeon. A careful examination is es- sential in all cases of contusion, lest some injury should be overlooked; and when, as sometimes will occur, it is found impossible, owing to the swelling, to arrive at a definite conclusion, it is better to err on the safe side, and treat the case for the more severe injury {c. rj. fractui-e), than to commit an error which may be of lasting importance to the patient, by ignor- ing tlie possibility of its occurrence. Cold is the best application for a bruise, and this may be a])plied in any way most convenient—by irri- gation, the application of a Avet bandage, or the use of an evaporating lotion. The following is a useful for- mula for an evaporating lotion: \)o Spiritus Villi rectificati, Liquoi'is Ammoniiu Acetatis, aa fjj ; Mist. Caraplioras, f^xiv. Misce ; and care should be taken to instruct the patient to allow it to evaporate, and not to cover the rag on which it is applied. The tincture of Arnica (from 5iv to 5vj to the pint of w^ater, or stronger) has been highly recommended in all cases of bruise, and appears to have considerable power both in alleviat- ing pain and procuring absorption of the eftused blood.* * Vide Lecture by Mr. Mitchell Henry,' Lancet, lOth Decem- ber, 1859.