3. The following is a splendid local application.—Cleanse thoroughly the inflamed part with pure castile soap and water, and then wash this off with one to one thousand corrosive sublimate solution. Dry the skin with a soft towel and apply a thick coating of equal parts of Ichthyol and vaselin, and over this place antiseptic gauze or sterilized absorbent cotton. Keep this in place with adhesive straps. If the diseased surface is small it may not be necessary to use the gauze, etc.
4. Tincture Chloride of Iron in dose of ten to twenty drops and more if necessary four times a day, well diluted with water. This is very hard on the teeth and should be taken through a glass tube.
Diet.—Milk, broths, etc., liquid diet or foods. (See Nursing Dept. under liquid diet.)
Nursing.—When you nurse any infectious patient, you must be not only careful of your patient, but of yourself. It is not necessary in order to do good nursing to endanger yourself; and a nurse who does not know how to care for herself, cannot successfully nurse the sick. In erysipelas I always watch the eruption closely. Sometimes it recedes, and the patient, of course, is worse. Then there are some people who believe in "pow- wowing." They have that done and then do not take care of themselves. I have attended such cases. One case was especially striking. The "pow-wow" person did his work and then the patient thought himself well and proceeded to enjoy himself and caught cold. The result was the "going in" of the eruption and a beautiful cough. I succeeded in my efforts and the next day he had the erysipelas going along nicely, but no cough. I write this so you will take proper care of yourself and shun conjurers and their "pow-wow."
TOXEMIA, SEPTICEMIA; PYEJMIA.—Toxemia refers to the group of symptoms and lesions caused by the presence in the blood of toxins (poison) usually resulting from bacterial growths.
Septicemia refers to the condition caused by the presence in the blood of bacteria (microbes) as well as toxin.
Pyemia refers to the same condition as septicemia with the development of fresh places of suppuration.
Sapremia is a septic intoxication, the result of the absorption of toxins.
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SEPTICEMIA.—The presence of bacteria in the blood, introduced from a local lesion (wound, injury, etc.) or with no obvious local infection.