Page:Guide to health.djvu/143

Rh poultices may as well be applied over the portions of the cloth which stick on to the body. They should be renewed as soon as they begin to get dry; there is no reason to fear the touch of cold water.

Where this sort of first aid has not been rendered, the following directions will be found very useful. Fresh plantain leaves well smeared with olive or sweet oil should be applied over the burns. If plantain leaves are not available, pieces of cloth may be used. A mixture of linseed oil and lime-water in equal proportions may also be applied with great advantage. The portions of cloth which adhere to the burns may be easily removed by moistening them with a mixture of tepid milk and water. The [first bandage of oil should be removed after two days, and afterwards fresh bandages applied every day. If blisters have formed on the burnt surface, they should be pricked, but the skin need not necessarily be removed.

If the skin has simply got red by the burn, there is no more effective remedy than the application of a mud poultice. If the fingers have been burnt, care should be taken, when the poultice is applied, that they do not touch against one another. This same treatment may be applied in cases of acid-burns, and scalds of every description.