Mustard Plasters.—It is stated that in making a mustard plaster, no water whatever should be used, but the mustard mixed with the white of an egg; the result will be a plaster that will "draw" perfectly, but will not produce a blister even upon the skin of an infant, no matter how long it is allowed to remain upon the part.
Bread and Milk Poultice.—Take stale bread in crumbs, pour boiling sweet milk, or milk and water over it, and simmer till soft, stirring it well; then take it from the fire, and gradually stir in a little glycerine or sweet oil, so as to render the poultice pliable when applied.
Linseed Poultice.—- Take of linseed, powdered, four ounces; hot water sufficient, mix and stir well with a spoon, until of suitable consistence. A little oil should be added, and some smeared over the surface as well, to prevent its getting hard. A very excellent poultice, suitable for many purposes.
Spice Poultice.—Powdered cinnamon, cloves and Cayenne pepper, of each two ounces; rye meal, or flour, spirits and honey, of each sufficient to make of suitable consistence.
Quinsy.—This is an inflammation of the tonsils, or common inflammatory sore throat; commences with a slight feverish attack, with considerable pain and swelling of the tonsils, causing some difficulty in swallowing; as the attack advances these symptoms become more intense, there is headache, thirst, a painful sense of tension, and acute darting pains in the ears. The attack is generally brought on by exposure to cold, and lasts from five to seven days, when it subsides naturally, or an abscess may form in tonsils and burst, or the tonsil may remain enlarged, the inflammation subsiding.
TREATMENT.—The patient should remain in a warm room, the diet chiefly milk and good broths, some cooling laxative and diaphoretic medicine may be given; but the greatest relief will be found in the frequent inhalation of the steam of hot water through an inhaler, or in the old-fashioned way, through the spout of a teapot.
Other Remedies for Rheumatism.—1. Bathe the parts affected with water in which potatoes have been boiled, as hot as can be borne, just before going to bed; by morning it will be much relieved, if not removed. One application of this simple remedy has cured the most obstinate of rheumatic pains. 2. Half an ounce of pulverized salt petre put in half a pint of sweet oil; bathe the parts affected, and a sound cure will be speedily effected. 3. Rheumatism has frequently been cured by a persistent use of lemon juice, either undiluted or in the form of lemonade. Suck half a lemon every morning before breakfast, and occasionally during the day, and partake of lemonade when thirsty in preference to any other drink. If severely afflicted a physician should be consulted, but, in all cases, lemon juice will hasten the cure. 4. By the valerian bath, made simply by taking one pound of valerian root, boiling it gently for about a quarter of an hour in one gallon of water, straining and adding the strained liquid to about twenty gallons of water in an ordinary bath. The temperature should be about ninety-eight degrees, and the time of immersion from twenty minutes to half an hour. Pains must be taken to dry the patient perfectly upon getting out of the bath. If the inflammation remain refractory in any of the joints, linseed meal poultices should be made with a strong decoction of valerian root and applied.
How to Cure Ring-Worm.—To one part sulphuric acid, add sixteen to twenty parts water. Use a brush and feather, and apply it to the parts night and morning. A few dressings will generally cure. If the solution is too and causes pain, dilute it with water, and if the irritation is excessive, rub on a little oil or other softening application, but always avoid the use of soap.
Or, wash the head with soft soap every morning, and apply the following lotion every night: One-half drachm of sub-carbonate of soda dissolved in one gill of vinegar.
Healing Salve.—Sweet oil, three quarts; resin, three ounces; beeswax, three ounces. Melt together; then add powdered red lead, two pounds; heat all these together and when nearly cold add a piece of camphor as large as a nutmeg. Good for burns, etc.