Abscess.—­An accumulation of pus (matter) in any part of the body.

External Abscess.—­Boil the knife, wash your hands in clean, hot, soapy water.  Wash the abscess and surrounding parts in hot water and good soap, and rinse off with alcohol, a salt solution, or listerine, etc.  Then make a good deep clean cut and scrape out if necessary.  Dress with a clean linen gauze or absorbent cotton, Poultices may be used if you are careful.  Such an abscess should be dressed twice a day.  The inner dressing should be soft and thick enough to absorb all the secretion given out between dressings.

Mothers’ remedies. 1.  Abscess, Beech Bark Poultice for.—­“Poultice made of red beech bark and wheat bran,” A poultice made of the bark will cause a drawing feeling, and the wheat bran will retain the heat.  The proportions for making the poultice should be about half and half.

2.  Abscess, Milk and Salt Poultice for.—­“Make a poultice of one cup of hot milk and common salt three teaspoonfuls; salt added gradually so it will not curdle.  Cook until smooth and creamy, then add enough flour so it will spread but not be dry.  Divide this into four poultices and apply in succession every half hour.  This will remove the soreness and it should be kept oiled until healed.”

3.  Abscess, More Good Poultices for.—­“Take equal parts of rosin and sugar, mix well and apply for several days until the abscess is broken.  If this does not cause the abscess to break, poultice hourly with flaxseed meal.”

[70 Mothers’ remedies]

Felon. (Whitlow).—­An inflammation of the deeper structures and frequently it is under the covering of the bone, (periosteum).  If under the latter it must be opened soon or the resulting pus will burrow and destroy bone, joints, etc.  The pain is intense, and after the patient has passed one sleepless night walking the floor and holding his finger it should be opened.

How?  Place the hand with the fingers extended with the palm up (it is usually under the finger or in the palm of the hand) upon the table; stand by the side of the arm.  Attract the patient to something else; have a curved two-edge knife ready and put the point, one-half inch, toward the palm, away from the felon part, press hard and the patient will jerk his hand and the cut will be made down to the bone, the membrane and tissues all opened freely, a vent given for the pus and in ten minutes very little pain.  Dress as for an abscess.  If opened this way, it need not be reopened.

If in the Palm.—­This needs a doctor, and must be opened with care.  There are too many blood vessels to be careless there and one who understands it must do it.  Open a true felon early before it has time to destroy the bone.

Superficial felons.  Mothers’ Remedies. 1.  A Cure if Taken in Time.—­“If taken in time a felon may be cured without lancing, but if poultice or liniment is used it is important that they should be bound on tightly as the mechanical compression is more essential than the application.  A good remedy is finely pulverized salt, wet with spirits of turpentine bound tightly and left two or three days, wetting with the turpentine when dry without removing the cloth.”