People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1895-12-27
HOW TO PIERCE The EAR.


Too Much Cere1assness Exhibited In This
Simple but Important Operation.
The Herald contained recently q
5rief account of q little Italian girl,
years of age, dying from blood
poisoning, which set in the day after
1er mother had pierced her ears.
The Italian mother, in utter igno-
rance Of the laws Of health, drew
green thread through the holes
which she had made in the child's
ears, to keep them open until the
wounds healed inflammation set in
very socn after the operation.
This occurrence brings properly
IN the tapis the subject of earrings
and piercing the ears. With q view Of
learning whether there were many
such eases on record / secured the
views Of a surgeon whose practice
for the past rs years has been large
~ confined to women. He read tho
brief article before making any COM
meDt Then, as he returned the pa
per, he said: mo, / have never
known Of death caused by the opera
ton before this one in The Herald.
Dut | have seen great many cases
Of agony and suffering. And [ have
never seen the operation done prop
lrly by mothers or jewelers.. In the
FIRST place. the ears are never ox-
aaIt by obaloo, pierced SO that the
earrings will hang or be hold prop
erly. Ono rms i'll and heother out,
rs q rule. Ono is often higher than
The other The lobe is pierced too
high up or toe low down Ono hole
is Bearer the face than the other.
Tho danger of blood poisoning is
not to be ignored as of no account
because the operation is supposedly
not Il dangerous one. There is moth
ing right about this home surgery
the cleanest person, when it comes
to a surgical operation, is, without
proper scientific having, medically
unelean. If you could but know the
extreme cautions that are taken in
all we'll conducted hospitals The
operating surgeon will not allow any
ono to hand him a towel even, If
such d one has not antiseptically
prepared his hands to act as an as
sistant. All the instruments to be
gsod have been oleansed. A woman
takes q needle, any needle, and
threads it with any thread This
thread may have boon in her work
basket months and months, lying
next to other spools Of all colors.
She would not think Of washing her
own hands or washing the ear to be
pierced. A cork is taken out of some
bottle, any bottle, without thought
rs to what is in the bottle or how
long the cork has been exposed to
the dust. This cork is placed under
the lobe of the ear for the needle to
strike against when it comes
through. Inflammation and suppura-
ton naturally result.
II have always insisted that the
operation should be done by sur
@eon, and by one who will take the
trouble to do it properly"
But would not so slight an oper-
alton DO beneath the notice Of q sur
goon, doctor?'
mo; the rich can command these,
and tho poor could have it done at
hospitals"
How about wearing earrings any
way? Are not earrings q relic OF
both barbarism and ancient Biblical
slavery"
'Idonot think that women should
wear earrings. But SO long as they
will do it the ears should be proper
" treated, so that the rings will
hang gracefully and both alike. And,
moro Important still, the danger
should also be avoided Wash the
lobe of the ear with q disinfectant.
Make it surgically clean. Use a cut
ting needle, Pass it through the CEN
ter of tho lobe, and az right angles
to it. Use silk thread prepared so
that it is free from disease germs
and viii turn easily in the hole, that
HE tissues may not be irritated. -
New York Horald.