The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-01-22
FRENCH War BURN
GURETRIED HERE
Ambrine Surgical Dressing Ap-
piled to Wounds Of Man
and Boy.

Interesting experiments In the use
OF ambrine, q surgical dressing for
burns. are being made At Emergency
Hospital
Ambrine, q proprietary product re-
sembling parafdn, was introduced TO
America by Miss Elsie de Wolfe, an
American woman who has Just re-
turned from France, where she
served A. q volunteer nurse. Accord
ing to Miss de Wolfe. the dressing 10
being used with unusually good re-
suits in the French army.
Thursday two patients at the hos
pital suffering from burns were
treated with ambrine. the dressing
being applied by q physician with
the assistance OF Miss de w olfe. The
operation. according TO the physician.
n simple. merely entailing the heat
ing OF the waxlike substance to q
temperature OF las degrees Fahren-
heit. and applying TO the wound with
brush or spary.
Dressins Easy to Apply.
/. According to reports of European
experiments with the new remedy. Il
tends to alleviate pain Immediately
on application. In the cases at
Emergency Hospital. IL was impos-
stble to verify this statement, a.
neither Of the patients was suffering
from the effects of his burns
Medical men In Warrington have
pertinent, and many Of them expect to
follow the results closely.
According to the physician In
charge OF the experiment., the only
fact that appears Significant today Is
the ease Of application and removal
of the dressing, A change OF dress
ing II necessary every day. So far,
IL II asserted, the changes have been
made without pain to. the patients.
The dressing possesses the valuable
property OF nonadhesfveness-
Only small supply Here.
The patients treated are q man and
boy The former suffered severe
burns on the face about q week ago;
the latter was burned less severely on
bis face, neck. and shoulders last
Tuesday. The physician IN charge OF
the patients declares that neitherycase
progressed far enough under former
treatment to nuIlify the verify OF re
ports on the ambrine treatment Both
cases are considered fair tests OF the
effects OF dressing.
No tangible results Of the treat
ment are apparent today, according
to the physician.
Burns are slow in healing" he
said, "and II may be two or three
weeks before q real report II Dos
sible"
The supply for use in the expert
ment here Is limited and the physician
fears that II may not hold OUT
Ions, enough to give q thorough trial
"AlthIugh I would neither endorse
nor reject this dressing uncondition-
ally from the results on these two
cases, 1t may give a fair indication
of whether it Is feasible to continue
with it. 81
Little known In U. ..
Little Is known in the United states
of ambrine. 1t has been used. accord
ing to Miss de Wolfe. extensively in
the French army. particularly in
cases of burns by liquid fire. Up 10
the time of the war. the remedy, dis
covered by DR.. Barthe- de Sandfort,
had been accorded little recognition
Miss de Wolfe has left samples OF
the dressing with physicians in Bos-
ton and New York.
She is in America to assist In rails
ing funds for the French ambulance
work. particularly the installation OF
ambrine laboratories.