A manual of minor surgery and bandaging : for the use of house-surgeons, dressers and junior practitioners / by Christopher Heath.

  • Christopher Heath
Date:
1866
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

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

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    BED-SORES. stumps are liable, and that it allows the patient to move more freely than if the stump is laid on a pillow,* Bed-sores.—Of all the annoying complications of sur- gical cases, bed-sores are the worst. The greatest care mnst be taken to prevent their formation, since, if the skin is once broken, it is a matter of the greatest difficulty to induce it to heal again so long as the patient occupies the recumbent position. The slightest tenderness over the sacrum or hips should receive, therefore, immediate attention, and various ap- plications have been suggested for the relief of the com- plaint. Eqiial parts of olive oil and brandy, gently rubbed with the palm of the hand over the tender s,])ot for five minutes twice a-day, will be found efficacious in render- ing the skin tough and less sensitive to pressure. Col- lodion painted over the part is a useful application, and some surgeons prefer to cover the tender spot with ama- dou-plaister, so as to form a cushion over it. A water- pillow under the pelvis of the patient forms a most valuable addition to either of the above modes of treat- ment, and an old or emaciated patient, whom it will be necessary to keep in the recumbent position for any length of time, should be furnished with a water-pillow from the first, so that all risk may be avoided. Paralytic cases require not merely a water pillow, but Fig. 12. * See Med. Times and Gazette. April 29, 1865.