Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-11-23
Simple Remedies.

HcCcSSdIy W ScIlu niles IOr DOCTOR,
while even in the city the family physi-
clan is not always to be had on the in
slant. Therefore it is well to be famil-
lar with the many simple remedies al
ways at hand in every household
prompt use of which may frequently
save pain, and sometimes life itself.
Ut these, hot water probably deserves
the first rank, since the facility with
which it is to be had is not unfrequently
a matter Of life or death. In convul-
sions from teething, or in violent attacks
of Group, the physician when he comes
will probably at once order the hot bath.
The water for this should be just hot
enough to bear the hand in for few
minutes, and the patient should be i'm
mersed for only moment or two, taken
out, wrapped in blanket, and the oper-
alton repeated as often as necessary
For sprain, however severe, water as
hot as it can possibly be endured is
among the best of applications, and
should be resOrted to at once.
Hot lye and water is even better than
water alone, and plaster of I've and red
mud is in great favor with the old-fash-
Toned nurses after the hot I've and water
has been used.
Salt is another efficient remedy in ma
ny cases. Salt water, used as lotion,
is excellent is cases of poisoning from
poison oak or ivy, and for the bites of
wood or seed ticks For this it should
be strong, while weak salt is good for
weak or infamed eyes. We know of an
old French lady who at sixty years of
age was able to read and sew without
the aid of glasses, and who attributed
the preservation of her eyesight to the
regular application of French brandy
and salt, lnig ht and morning, just before
going to bed and Immediately on rising.
The proportions were gill of brandy to
teaspoonful of salt-the application to
be made with the tip of the finger on the
lid Of the closed eye, along the lashes,
keeping the eye closed until the brandy
dried. In households where bodily in
trinity or disease calls for hot rocks,
hot bottles, bag of hot salt will be
found useful in their stead. The salt
should be heated in the oven, and pour
ed into the bag, which is then sewed up.
1t retains its heat longer than either wa
ter or stone, does not scorch, and of
course cannot break and wet the bed
ding. In addition, the fact that besides
the heat which it affords, the salt is of
itself of value as an outward application
in cases of neuralgia or rheumatism.
A roasted onion, wrapped in brown
paper or in newspaper, and laid over the
ear as hot as can be borne, will relieve
the most intense earache when arising
from cold; and we have known it sue
cessful where the pain came from ris-
ing inside the head, and other remedies
had failed. Slices of raw onion laid on
plate in the chamber of patient i'll
with infectious disease, acts as disin-
fectant-and we have seen it stated that
when the disease was smallpox, they
turned black and decayed in the course
of two or three hours, thus proving how
much atmospheric poison they absorb.
An exchange is responsible for the
statement that sliced raw onions placed
under the arm-pits, will relieve sycope;
and as an antidote to poison which has
been taken internally, while no one
needs to be told of their virtues as an
antiscorbutic.
Wet soda will instantly relieve the
pain caused by the sting of hornet or
beetle explanation being that the
sting poison is an acid and the soda an
alkali. Of course, hartshorn is, for the
same reason, even better in such cases;
but the soda is often at hand when the
hartshorn is not. And when the sting
is received out of doors, away from the
house, fresh earth will be found to nit
igate the pain until other applications
can be used
Mustard and warm water stirred to-
gether is an excellent emetic, and when
ipecac or tartar emetic is not at hand 1t
should be given at once. Warm soap
suds will serve the same purpose in an
emergency-when nothing else is to be
had-and life may often depend upon
the prompt action of an emetic.
Most country housewives are familiar
with the virtues of boneset, horehound,
wild cherry bark and the like. Many
country beauty dutifully drinks sarsa-
parilla tea every spring for the sake of
her complexion The success of many
patent medicine is due to the healing
properties of these old-fashioncd roots
and herbs, and where such are needed it
is surely better to use them in their
purity than combined with we know not
what nostrums when bought from the
druggist.