Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-02-26

grow stale or dirty. But the prominent
dangers will always remain dlr'S
needles and dirty fingers, while the re-
sulting assesses will always cause
pain and anxiety TO the careless. one
truth certainly is established nova
days The growing abscess should he
lanced Immediately to let out the con-
costing blood. You should not Wait
for the abscess to come to IA head,
or as they used to say. ito ripcn.
| I-nhappiIy we cannot pass our hands
through an alcohol flame. like platinum
needles or surgeons knives ana
pincers. Paris surgeons are doing the
next thing To it. however when they
hold them in an oven at a temperature
of PAS degrees Fahrenheit. After the
hands have been washed thoroughly
this is considered the best means Of
purifying thcm-for fire purifies
everything: but it has the drawback
of being announcement and often i'm
practicable. German surgeons have
proposed to operate in gloves. Some
say rubber gloves. others say floss
silk gloves. Rubber gloves make the
fingers of the operator clumsy. They
have. too. the danger of bursting ar
tearing easily and then the danger Of
infection reappears greater than ever.
because the skin. being heated by the
rubber glove their perspiration is
likely to bring to the surface the
microbes that ordinarily find their hid
ing place deep in the epidermis. Gloves.
for the rest are only an eXpedient.
There is way to wash your hands SO
that they viii be almost clean.
Ii must not hr imagined however.
| : ~ ,f III. h.n
liquid notoriously antiseptic ana anti
mcrobian. such as pnenic acid or
sUhlimate, viii be sufficient You would
have to soak Them in such a liquid for
long hours. The first great act IN the
long ANA complicated operation Of
washing YOUR hands clean begins i'll
stead in the mechanical cleansing or
the hands with od-f shioned soap hot
Water and flesh brush. While working
with the brush YOU should be careful
not e break The skin. According to
Hoegltr the Basic professor who mas
written a whole book on the subject
soap ana hot water remain the first
and most necessary toilet requisites
There is nothing like them for remov-
ing the dead skin. thoroughly cleaning
the "ridermis and discmparraSsng the
) finger nails Of their mass Of STEERING
life death
; After the most conscientious scrub
hing with soap and hot water. thrice
repeated. Their" remain. nevertheless
thousands Of microbes imbedded in the
assures Of the skin. 1t il now that anti
: septic trcatmcnt-preferab in the
'nrm Of the Van SWeten Sublimate
. solution has jts value. Even without
soap there is nothing like sublimate
bath for giving Il sensation OF purity
[ and sweetness To ;he whole body. 1t
goes without 50 wing that such a bath
: is never to be undertaken without the
: order ANA prescription OF a physician.
In Paris ali the numerous little bath
. houses Of the neighborhood which
: really take the place of the household
: tub in England and America. have
special rooms and tubs devoted to such
baths. Subimate Is. after all ,o-ro-
. sive sublimate. and ii eats metal The
tubs are. therefore. Of wood enamclcd
iron. The bather must come To them
| with his bottle of Sublimatc solution
obtained by means of a prescription
in his hand; because the bath people
have no right to sell the deadly stuff.
Then the bather will be made to pay
three times the price of an ordinary
| II.
tendant whom he should Tip
literally. Perhaps the latter maEniiieS
his office He will certainly warn you
with much gravity not to open your
mouth under water. and not to get
drop Of il in your eyes. However weak
the solution is. there will be a slight
nricking sensation. My serum-inieCt-
ing friend took a sublimate bath for his
assesses: and so enthusiastic was he
| with the result that he has since re-
reatcd the experiment for the sake Of
the delicious sensation of being really
clean
In the case of the hands, to be per
feet. they should be prepared" for
the sublimate. After the brushing in
SOAP ana water. there should be
brushing III alcohol Alone, the sur
geons say. the Sublmate is still not
sufficient for perfect antisepsia. Nor
is alcohol alone sufficient. But the one
followed by the other is so nearly
effective that the chances Of the last
microbes being killed or washed away
are said to be 50 in 100. The alcohol.
lille It dehydrateS the tissues. at tn"
same time dissolves the tiny particles
of grease which might prevent the
perfect action Of the mercurial salts.
Furthermore it expes the little
giobuleS If air dissimulated in the
pores Of the skin. 50 that the microbi-
eide solution may find no obstacle when
at last it is applied.
as it has been said. you must not
imagine that. even after all these
preparations. the hands are ne"e@-
sarily clean. The chances are 80 in 100,
that Is all. There VIII bc many q