Progress and Achievements of the Colored People / Containing the Story of the Wonderful Advancement of the Colored Americans—the Most Marvelous in the History of Nations—Their Past Accomplishments, Together With Their Present-day Opportunities and a Glimpse Into the Future for Further Developments—the Dawn of a Triumphant Era. A Handbook for Self-improvement Which Leads to Greater Success

by Kelly Miller; Joseph R. Gay

BURNS AND THEIR TREATMENT

Common cooking soda, as found in every kitchen, is a convenient remedy for burns and scalds. Moisten the injured part and then sprinkle with dry soda so as to cover it entirely and loosely wrap it with a wet linen cloth.

Another convenient remedy for the same kind of injury, if you have a mucilage bottle at hand, is to brush or pour a coating of the mucilage over the entire injured part. The chief cause for pain from burns and scalds is their exposure to the air, and the mucilage coating will keep the air from coming in contact with the inflamed tissue.

The following is the recommendation of an eminent physician for treating burns from gunpowder:

“In Burns from Gunpowder, where the powder has been deeply imbedded in the skin, a large poultice made of common molasses and wheat flour, applied over the burnt surface, is the very best thing that can be used, as it seems to draw the powder to the surface, and keeps the parts so soft that the formation of scars does not occur. It should be removed twice a day, and the part washed with a shaving brush and warm water before applying the fresh poultice. The poultice should be made sufficiently soft to admit of its being readily spread on a piece of cotton. In cases in which the skin and muscles have been completely filled with the burnt powder we have seen the parts heal perfectly without leaving the slightest mark to indicate the position or nature of the injury.”