An Apparatus for use in connection with Poultices.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Apparatus for use in connection with Poultices.
I, ELIZA JESSIE STEWART, of 74, Abingdon Road, Kensington, in the County
of London, Gentlewoman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
My invention has reference to poultices and the means of prolonging their
efficiency and increasing the benefit to be derived from them.
Poultices as now generally used require great care in their application in
order that they may neither scald the patient or be so cool as to be inefficient
and even when properly applied they soon lose their heat and the patient has to
be disturbed, often to his or her great discomfort and injury, in order that the
poultice may be changed or removed. To lessen this evil and prolong the term
of their beneficial action poultices are generally made of considerable thickness
so that the great mass of material may retain sufficient heat for a more prolonged
period.
Now according to my invention I provide a hot water receptacle immediately
at the back of the emollient material with means for maintaining the heat of
the same.
I prefer to make my receptacle of vulcanized rubber fabric or other
waterproof or watertight material and of shape according to the part to which
it is intended to be applied and preferably of about equal depth or thickness
throughout and either with or without internal stays divisions or partitions to
prevent its deformation and to maintain the even distribution and regulate the
flow of the contents, and facilitate its being changed, and I provide a tube or
tubes with appropriate valves and fittings or the like through which hot water
or steam or other heating material may be introduced or withdrawn or made to
circulate.
The surface of the receptacle which is to be towards the patient I make with
a rim or flange preferably extending all round it, the edge of which may be
turned over inwardly or otherwise in such manner as to facilitate the attach-
ment of the poultice.
fit as
The poultice is to be prepared in the usual manner but may be made much
thinner than the ordinary poultice, and it is to be made to
accurately as may be the side of the container within and partly
under the rim of which it is to lie. Tapes or the like preferably from
the edges of the rim are then passed across it, and the poultice is thus secured
to the container in such wise that the whole may be placed on the patient, after
which the heat may be maintained as long as is required by changing the
contents either continuously or at intervals by means of the tube or tubes and
their appropriate fittings.
Dated the 26th day of February 1897.

page_text: An Apparatus for use in connection with Poultices.
I, ELIZA JESSIE STEWART, of 74, Abingdon Road, Kensington, in the County
of London, Gentlewoman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
My invention has reference to poultices and the means of prolonging their
efficiency and increasing the benefit to be derived from them.
:
Poultices as now generally used require great care in their application in
order that they may neither scald the patient or be so cool as to be inefficient
and even when properly applied they soon lose their heat and the patient has to
be disturbed often to his or her great discomfort and injury in order that the
poultice may be changed or removed
To, lessen this evil and to prolong the term of their beneficial action poultices
are generally made of considerable thickness so that the great mass of material
may retain sufficient heat for a more prolonged period.
Now according to my invention I provide a hot water receptacle immediately
at the back of the emollient material with means for maintaining the heat of
the same.
I prefer to make my receptacle of rubber, vulcanized rubber fabric or other
waterproof or watertight material and of shape according to the part to which
it is intended to be applied and preferably of about equal depth or thickness
throughout and either with or without internal stays divisions or partitions to
prevent its deformation and to maintain the even distribution and regulate the
How of the contents, and to facilitate its being changed, and I provide a tube or
tubes with appropriate valves and fittings or the like through which hot water
or steam or other heating material may be introduced or withdrawn or made to
circulate.
The surface of the receptacle which is to be towards the patient I make with
a rim or flange preferably extending all round it, the edge of which may be
turned over inwardly or otherwise in such manner as to facilitate the attach-
ment of the poultice.
The poultice is to be prepared in the usual manner but may be made much
thinner than the ordinary poultice and it is to be made to fit as accurately as
may be the side of the container within and partly under the rim
of which it is to lie. Tapes or the like preferably from the edges
of the rim are then passed across it, and the poultice is thus secured to
the container in such wise that the whole may be placed on the patient, after
which the heat may be maintained as long as it is required by changing the
contents either continuously or at intervals by means of the tube or tubes and
their appropriate fittings.
In the accompanying sheet of drawings Fig. 1, represents a side view of one
of my apparatus with one corner torn open to show the construction. Fig. 2, is
a section on the line a, y in Fig 1.
The body A of the apparatus is a watertight vessel or receptacle of vulcanized
rubber coated fabric with a flexible tube one end of which opens into the
vessel A, the other end being fitted with a valve or the like d, and funnel c;
to facilitate the opening and closing and filling and emptying of the vessel.
On the side of the vessel A which is intended to be towards the patient is a
rim or flange f of rubber covered canvas or other suitable material which need
not necessarily be absolutely waterproof, part of which f¹ is turned over as

page_text: shown in the drawings and is provided with several eyelets 9 g or,like means
or attachments for carrying tapes or strings.
In using this apparatus the poultice wrapped in the usual thin fabric is
placed within the flange f and under that part of it marked f¹ and tapes or the
like are then passed across it from the various eyelets d and so as to retain the
poultice in its place when it is being applied or otherwise.
The poultice so prepared may then be applied to the patient and hot water
may, either before or after it is placed on the patient, be introduced through the
funnel c and the tube b, and if the funnel c is held considerably above the level
of the vessel A the water will pass in without difficulty.
To remove or change the water the valve d is opened, and the funnel end of
the tube held at a level as much below that of the vessel A as practicable, the
water will then pass out and the receptacle collapse, after which it may be
again filled with hot water and the valve closed, and the heat thus be renewed
and maintained as may be desired without causing the patient any chill.
Instead of only one tube, two may be provided, one for the inlet and the
other for the outlet, and by this means a more rapid change in the contents may
be effected or a continuous current maintained.
The hot water vessel A may be provided with internal stays from front to back
such as to render it less subject to temporary deformation by over filling or
otherwise, and, when the apparatus is constructed with two tubes, to produce
a more even distribution of the current. Such internal stays are not necessary and
the apparatus may, particularly in the smaller sizes, be made without them.
The vessel A is represented with a folding edge piece i but for the sake of
simplicity or lightness or otherwise the back and front surfaces may be united
without the intervention of any such raising piece.
It will be obvious that the vessel A may be made of other material than
vulcanized rubber fabric and for application to parts of which the conformation
is sufficiently uniform in different subjects a rigid material such as thin sheet
metal may be used. The poultice containing flange f f being securely attached
thereto, and with such non-collapsible vessels it is preferable to have two tubes
instead of one in order to avoid difficulty with the air in emptying and filling.
Although only one shape is shown in the drawings it will be obvious that
various shapes and sizes should be provided for application to various parts of
the human body.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The apparatus for use in connection with poultices substantially as herein-
before described.
2. An apparatus for maintaining and regulating the heat of poultices com-
prising a hot water vessel with means for changing the water and means for the
reception and retention of the poultice substantially as hereinbefore described
and for the purposes set forth.
3. An apparatus for maintaining, regulating and controlling the heat of
poultices consisting of a hot water receptacle such as A, a receptacle for the
poultice such as that formed by a flange ff', a tube or tubes such as b for changing
the water with funnel e and valve d, substantially as hereinbefore described and
represented in the drawings.
041
L
100