The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1850-04-29
Burns and ScaIds.

Scarcely week passes, says the N. ork
Commercial Advertiser, in which the feelings
of newspaper readers are not painfully excl
ted by published accounts of dreadful acct
dents by fire. or steam or boiling water
We are confident therefore, OF rendering a SER
vice TO humanity, by giving larger publicity.
to the following passage from a highly inte-
resting paper in the last number of the Amer
lean Journal of the Medical Sciences, being
the s'Notes of Hospital Practice at Bellevue"
by D. NJ. Reese, NJ. D., resident physician.
BURNs.-Among the most numerous cases
brought into the surgical wards of charity
hospitals every where, may be reckoned the
injuries received by burns and scalds. which,
when extensive are too often fatal. In the
treatment Of these injuries, we have had
great experience, and uniform success, when
/ the patients were brought in soon after the
injury No fatal case of recent burns or
scalds has occurred in the hospital. although
several have been extensive and severe
/ The universal treatment Of all such cases is
to cover the parts with wi eaten -four, thrown
over the wounds by dredging box, which,
/ if thoroughly done so as to exclude the air,
and prevent its temperature from reaching
the suffering tissues, will afford instant releii
from pain,and al!ay all that nervous irritation
which is the chief source of immediate danger
in all cases of extensive burns.
We have had an opportunity to test this
practice in terrible burns. OcCasIoned by ex-
plosions of gunpowder in scalds from the
bursting of steam boilers in examples of per-
sons while drunk falling into the fire and 9th
ers in which the clothes were burnt off the
body bv the combustion of spirit gas &c. II
all these cases, and in some of them scarcely
any portion of the body had escaped-and
notwithstanding in Il few Of them the integu-
ments were literally baked. so that extensive
and deep seated supPuratiOn and sloughihg
were inevitable, and had afterwards TO be en-
dured-the external application Of the -four
was in the first instance our only remedy. and
this was continued for one or more days. while
the same acute effects of the injury demand
ed it. The superficial portions OF the burns
or scalds would often heal under this appli'
cation alone; and the solutions Of continuity
more or less deep. when renamed open and
discharginc were then dressed with lime wa
ter and oil by means of a feather to which
creosote was added if the gramulations were
slow. or the sloughs tardy in becoming loose.
Under this dressing the most formidable burns
have been healed; and when the face has
been involved there has been scarcely any
considerable delormity. In one -four patients
the face being horribly burned by an acciden-
tai explosion Of gunpowder the grains OF
powder having been imbeddcd in the skin
very great apprehensioas were INDUCED that
the discooraion thus produced would perma-
nently disfqur9 and deiorm the countenance.
But, after the persistent application Of the
flour for three successive days, and until the
Itumefaction ofthe face and head had suhsi-
ded. it was found that, with a few applca-
lions Of tie lime water dressing, the ccatri-
cation was complete. and even the dscolora-
ton was removed.
II this simple remedy were resorted TO II
the severe scaIds sometimes occurring from
explosions of steamboat boilers. &c. there car
be little doubt that the fatality of such burns
would be very rare; while the popular anC
mischievous methods of applying raw cotton
oil. molasses. salt. a'cohol. spirits Of turPen
tine. sugar Of lead water. ice &c. to extern
sive and deep bnrus are all Of them. injurious
and often destructive to life.