Chilblains and Frostbite.
Chilblains are usually found on the fingers or toes—after exposure to severe cold—especially when tight gloves or boots have been worn. Certainly the best way to promote the formation of chilblains is to toast the semi-frozen fingers or toes at a fire or stove, before the circulation has been re-established.
When chilblains are threatened, the part should be well rubbed with snow, or with camphorated spirit. Sponging with hot vinegar is very effective. Chilblains are checked in the early stages by painting with tincture of iodine. Once they have developed a preparation containing carbolic acid is useful in allaying pain and causing them to disappear. Ulcerated chilblains should be dressed with boric ointment spread on lint.
Prolonged exposure to intense cold leads to development of frostbite. If the case is a bad one, or injudiciously treated, gangrene or death of the part always follows; if this is extensive, amputation may be necessary.
Frostbite should be treated first by vigorous friction with snow or pounded ice. The affected parts should then be well wrapped with cloths wet with cold water. It is extremely dangerous to bring them near a fire. Afterwards, the part should be wrapped in cotton-wool.
Cholera.
Cholera is a serious acute disease, characterised by frequent watery motions, vomiting, cramp and collapse.
Cause.—It is often contracted by drinking contaminated water.
Research has shown the importance of the cholera “carrier,” that is to say the person, usually a native, who harbours in his bowel the specific organism of the disease. He may be perfectly healthy and yet be able to transmit cholera to other people by infecting water or food. The rôle of flies, infected clothes and rags, and faulty conservancy methods must be kept in mind.
Symptoms.—Giddiness, faintness, persistent vomiting and diarrhœa, great prostration, feeble pulse, cold perspiration, colic, intense thirst, and constant desire to pass urine. The vomit and motions rapidly become like rice-water in appearance, and the urine is more or less suppressed. There are severe cramps in the legs, belly, and other parts of the body. If then the pulse becomes weak, the temperature low, and the countenance dusky, the patient will probably sink. On the other hand, reaction may set in, all the symptoms abating, and the pulse, temperature, and colour becoming natural; the water is passed more freely, vomiting is less frequent, and the motions become more natural in colour.