The doctor at home and nurse's guidebook / edited by George Black.

Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The doctor at home and nurse's guidebook / edited by George Black. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    per cent.) in severer. Carbolated vaseline is an excellent antiseptic dressing that can readily be applied. Ointments having a lard base should be avoided, since such substances are breeding-grounds for pus germs. For some time after ap- parent cure shavers should use a i in 1000 bichloride of mercury solution in their lather water, and apply pure lanolin to the face every night. BARE FEET FOR CHILDREN On the subject of wearing neither shoes nor stockings in the case of children, a writer in the Lancet says : “A question has been raised whether, in England, children might not with advantage be allowed to adopt the practice prevalent in Scotland, Ireland, and many large districts on the Continent and in the British Colonies, of going bare- footed. As against the custom of wearing bad shoes that will let in the water and are soaked in wet weather, and stockings which are rarely changed, there can, we think, be no ground to doubt the expe- diency of abandoning foot-coverings altogether. Nature will be her own shoemaker in the matter of protec- tion, the cuticle being hardened just where a pad is needed and nowhere else, and she will amply provide for due defence against cold by establishing a more abundant supply of blood to the extremities. As a matter of fact, the heat of the body depends on the vital processes carried on within it, and these are amply sufficient to meet every want. Then, again, it is true, as the medical officer has, in the case to which we allude, reported, that if the foot is not encased in a hard frame or box which impedes the action of the muscles and joints, this organ will be capable of better work in walking and jumping, and it will be more fully nourished, in obedience to the law that makes the nutrition of every part and member of the body dependent on exercise for efficiency. To these considerations must be added, that when the extremities are habitually exposed there is less danger of cold- catching than when they are ‘ pro- tected.’ On hygienic grounds, bare feet are certainly admissible, and the fact that foot-coverings are not employed by the inhabitants of regions with climates colder and more variable than the English is evidence that they are not indis- pensable, or, as we believe, con- ducive to health in England. Habit and fashion alone enjoin the wearing of shoes, and to those who in early life are accustomed to go without these articles of dress there is not only no hardship, but an immunity from many troubles—chilblains, corns, cramped toes, and tender feet among the number.” BARLEY. See Decoctions. BARLEY WATER Mix one dessert-spoonful of “Patent” barley with a wine-glass- ful of cold water into a smooth paste. Pour this into a stewpan containing one quart of boiling water and stir over the fire for five minutes. Fla- vour with lemon and sugar, allow the mixture to cool, and strain off the sediment. For invalids requiring nutriment, a larger quantity of bar- ley should be used and the straining of sediment omitted, or not. BARRENNESS, CAUSES OF The causes of barrenness are various, but the most usual kinds are : (i) from impotency, or im- perfection, or abolition of the conceptive power ; (2) from the monthly discharge being either morbidly retained, or secreted with