Monongalia mirror. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855, 1852-10-09
GL.s:tt, ,st!.s q - s..,s..,.g....
rom llccsc's Medical Gazette.
BURNS AND sCaLns.

So long ago as 1850, in the frs! a.
mrric1n edition oil Coopr's Surgical
Dictionary, published by the Iiarprrs
Of this ctty, we took occasion 10 urge
upon the profession and public The i'm
por;ance Of better philosophy mud
practice in the medical management Of
the misc'lels resulting from such acct
dents ,hanlhat usually in vogue. We
;hen Stated The results ol onrr%prrifEce
for mare than lenyrars in Iielteatmpnt
of scnlds and,bjirns BY the ins.an, arrli-
cation Of wheat -four, an article always
at hand, and the perseverance in this
application alone until The acute MIA.
nation had subsidized. Our theory and
practice thus promulgated was approx.
I'd and recommended in the forthcoming
edition in London, by Mr. Samuel Coo
per himself, and has since fonndi,s way,
without credit, into numerous publica-
Inns athome and abroad. Even in the
late sIherapcuiical works Of DR.. 7. d.
Mltchell,of Philadelphia, this identical
practice is ascribpd to .Dr. John Tho
mascot England, who, in 1892, called
the.attention Of the profession thereto,
as We ore .6ll'inlha Ohio Medical Ly-
c"ua, lwo:.yrars after our publication
rs Aforesaid, and twelve years after our
testimony to its efficacy had been pub
lishrd. . as hr.
But waving the unimpnr!ant subject
ofPriority, we are grieved to learn from
the public press that such mullitndes
are annually perislling by scal.ls in
STEAMBOATS,, and from burns by camphne,
spirit gas, and otherwise; nearly all Of
whom, however, we do not hesitate 10
say, mightbe preserved from fatal re-
snlt iithis simple practice were adopted
immediately alter such accidents. In
stead Of this, however, we hear Of the
application ofeo1d seater. lead aeaty,
m0iassesyoils,cottoa, spain crtractors."
&C., accompanied almost uniformly
by the death ofthe sutfarer, and often
eater lingering in excrutiu!ing ,orture''
for days orihours.
Now itonsht 10 be promulgated to
The profession, and for hnmanity's sake
10 be known 10 the whole people, that
in anv cnsesoi burn or scald, however
extensive, lllhr acute suffering oilhe
patient mny be al once and permanently
relieved, and that in a moment ofiime,
by sprinkling over the injured surface q
thick layer Of wheat flour BY the hand,
or, what is better by a dredging box.
Every vestige of pain produced by
such injuries is instantly. removed. and
the sufferer onlysescapes the shock
to :he nervous system accompanying
such torture, but will generally iall in
toa quiet sleeptheJ moment the atmos-
pheric temperatures thus excluded
from the wounds
Why. then should persons thus inju-
red be allowed to die with intense ago
ny occasionpd BY burns and scalds, as
they oitendo, ,iflnot. without treatment
by The applications so made, many Of
which augment their sufftrings, and
render such injuries irreparable! Even
in Tile late explosion,on board the Rein
dser, It is said that many Of the scalded
lived for hours, suffering the whole
time from external injuries, and Then
treated with lime water, llnseed oil, &C.,
until they were dead Not apang need
have been enduyd beyond the time
necessary TO apply the flour, which
must lave beenat hand, II the ignorance
EITHER friends, and the antiquated pre-.
iudices of their medical advisers, had
not led them TO rely upon the misera-
be substitutes which superstition has
canonned for centuries. And so we
aGrm Of every case Of burn or scald, e.
ven If the entire surface has suffer
cd. + ~ y
In the New York and Bellevue Hos.
pitfalls this mode. Of treating burns has
been long in use; untll recently, as we
learn, thetsame object has been effected
at The former institutions, by the analo-
gous method Of covering the injured
parts with mu 'cilage Of gum arabic,
SO as to protect the denuded surface.
from the atmosphere, and which the
surgeons there prefer to -four in some
cases, where the weight Of the latter
becomes an inconvenience. To this
method we make no objections; but hav.
ing for SO many years employed the
flour alone, 10 the exclusion Of all'othor
agents, and infevery varietyan extent
oTinjurissby FIRE, we have thusreiler-
ated our testimony, and as this agent is
inevery house, and can be instantly
procured, with more readiness than
any olheriarticles named, we give 1.-THE
preference over allothers. .5g A5
And Ne repeat douri full persuasion
that moi onein a hundred ofthose per-
ishing by burns and scalds need sue
cumb under their injuries, if.hey were
al once, or as soon alter as may be-, Gov
cred with whea. flour. We have ap-
piled il successfully, alter numerous 9th,
er remedies had been unsuccessful, and
when manv hours had elapsed after the
accident. To give this suggestion to