The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-03-18


should be kept out of doors and never be
admitted on terms of too great familiarity.
Above all. dogs and Gets should never be
allowed to lap children.
One of the best dressings in cases of &C.
zema, burns and scalds, ringworm and
| favus the shingles and similar skin dis
eases is Unnn's gelatine dressing. This con-
| tains one part OF oxide of zinc. two parts
| Of gelatine. three parts Of glycerine and
| four parts of water. After soaking the
| gelatine In water for few hours the other
| ingredients are added and mixed by the
| aid of heat. When first made this mixture
will have the proper consistency, but II
kept any length OF time or heated several
| times, little water must be added. The
| surface to which Il. is TO be applied is first
washed with alcohol and then busted with
a mixture of four parts of starch and one
| part Of calomel. Then this gelatine mixture
is painted over the entire surface which is
affected and covered with a bandage. Dur
| ing the early treatment the dressing should
| be renewed once week, but later not
oftener than once a month. and at the last
| only once in three months. The mixture is
also of great value in supporting varicose
veins, being preferable to elastic dressings
| or elastic stockings.
Smallpox seems to have created a small
| riot recently at New Rochelle, N. Y Some
| negroes visited friend in Mount Vernon,
| who was later found to be afflicted with
| smallpox. The authorities at New Rochelle,
| having been advised of the situation, took
| prompt measures and located those who
had been exposed. In spite OF vaccination
| two Of the negroes developed varioloid and
| to effectually isolate them lot was leased
| in an isolated section some three miles
| from the city. The farmers nearby were so
| alarmed and enraged that they armed
| themselves with muskets, sticks and stones
| and. ably seconded by their wives and re-
| inforced by a number of dogs, drove away
| the drivers of the lumber wagons who had
| brought lumber for the pesthouse, turned
| the horses loose and overturned the lum-
| Der. A squad of police was sent to the
scene and the pesthouse was constructed
under their protection. The demonstration
| was needless one. as the location is three
thousand feet from the highway and one
thousand feet from the nearest house.
DR.. Lyon gives an interesting discussion,
in the Medical Record, Of the incubation
| of malaria by the mosquito He believes
| that in acute cases of malaria the patient
should be protected by netting so that he
cannot be bitten by mosquitoes, and he
| further believes that case of malaria
| menaces the public health If anophiles (the
mosquito which transmits malaria) are
| found in the locality, since the recurrence
| of malaria in a given district is probably
due to indirect transmission from one per-
| son to another. Among the methods sug-
gested for the determination of mosquitoes
| he mentions the introduction of fish into
| pools where they thrive, but the most eff
| fectual methods are to drain pools or to
place chemicals, such as petroleum, In the
water. Klebs. discussing the bubonic
| plague. in the Medical News, believes it
possible that f1eas and mosquitoes, as well
| as rats and mice, may be carriers of con-
| tagion.
Antiseptic may in some cases be over
done. DR.. Olshausen believes that in GER
| tain cases Of emergency the risk to the
patient from the delay due to preparations
| for minute disinfection of the hands, in
struments. ETC., may be greater than the
| risk Of Infection; in severe hemorrhage. for
example, or heart failure, rapid action is
| so necessary that the only antiseptic pre-
cautions warrantable are to wash the
hands with soap and water. and then rub
| bling them, as we'll as the instruments,
with alcohol. He sententiously says ex-
cess is injurious. even excessive disinfec-
| ton, but wherever possible. especially in
| serious operations, the best results are Sc
cured by the most approved technic.
| The connection between wearing tight
| boots and catching cold seems rather re-
| mote at first sight, but by preventing the
| free circulation of the blood they do cause
| congestion in other parts of the body and
| the symptoms of a cold follow. Sitting in
| damp shoes is another potent cause of cold.
| Nor does this apply alone to shoes that are
| positively wet. If the shoes are only
slightly damp the result is as bad. because,
| by it's evaporation. the moisture absorbs
| heat from the foot and thus chills it and
| checks perspiration. Waterproof shoes in
| vented to prevent getting the feet wet
are in reality more dangerous, hygieni-
| cally. than shoes which do not shed water
| because they do not allow the escape of
Precipitation and thus subject the foot to a
| continued cold bath.
| :: ::
Fetichism is something from which ply
| sicians are presumed to be free, but DR..
Bishop. in the Lancet, defining the word
as tendency to mistake the relative value
| of objects sought for or the effect which
brings about a certain result, believes that
| students are liable to fetichism in many
cases. For example, men cultivate fet-
! ichism who place some especial author
| above all others, or pride themselves on
| being up to date, or attach undue impor-
1 lance to details i'm methods of operating
and to antiseptic precautions. All of these,
| he says, are due to errors in mental per-
| spective.
| While castor oil sold for medicinal pur-
poses is free from poisonous qualities, the
! castor bean itself is very poisonous. DIR.
Meldrum, of England, reports a fatal case
4 from eating two castor oil seeds in which
| the most distinctive symptoms were in
| cessant purging and vomiting. As castor
! beans are often kept curiosities, owing
| to their peculiar formation and markings,
! older people should take care to keep them