MEDICAL tepid water in the morning. Digestion must be attended to by suitable diet. Blisters are circular patches of fluid between the epidermis, or outer skin, and the true skin, or dermis. They may be caused by friction, as, for example, the rubbing of a large shoe upon the heel. Bums will cause blisters to appear, and irritation of the skin through pressure is another cause. The application of cantharidis or miistard- leaves will produce blisters on the skin. The jin- ricksha boys of China and Japan often show huge blisters, or bursae, on the shoulder from the pres- sure of straps. The best treatment is to remove the cause, and the blisters will gradually dis- appear. It is not a good thing to cut a blister, because by doing this the delicate underlying skin with its sensitive nerve endings will be exposed to the air, causing pain and perhaps infection by microbes. If, however, there is great pain or tension in the blister, it may be pricked with a needle, which must first be boiled, and the fluid gently pressed out. A dressing of boracic lint should then be applied, and kept in place with a gauze bandage. The application of blisters for medi- cinal purposes will be dealt with under Nursing. Boils are small abscesses of the skin which terminate in a slough, or core. Generally they come in crops, one coming as the other goes, often on the neck or back. The boil begins as a red pimple, very often round a hair, which gradually increases in size, forming a painful, purplish, conical swelling with a flattened top. The causes are numerous. Boils generally denote a debilitated state of health or too heavy diet, with an excess of butchers' meat. They are also caused by friction, such as chafing of the neck by a collar. Sometimes a boil can be checked in the early stage by applying pure carbolic acid wdth the tip of a glass rod. Any cause of irritation, such as the collar, must be, of course, removed. The simple expedient of painting a boil with collodion by means of a camel-hair brush will often suffice. If these measures fail, hot fomentations or a linseed poultice should be used, and when the boil has broken it should be washed with boracic lotion and a simple ointment applied. It may be necessary to have the boil lanced. The general health or constitution requires attention in the matter of diet, fresh air, etc. Breath, Offensiveness of. — The natural breath is free from odour. When the breath is offensive, the cause may be lack of cleanliness in the mouth from either the presence of decayed teeth or from particles of decomposing food being allowed to lie about the mouth. Certain diseases of the nose, especially chronic inflammation of the small bones in the nose, cause a very foul breath to be constantly present. Even enlarged tonsils and adenoids frequently make the breath offensive. Bad breath may be due to digestive derangement, such as dyspepsia or constipation. Disease of the lungs, also, is associated with an unpleasant odour of the breath. Cleanliness of the mouth and teeth, attention to digestive conditions, or constipation, should be the first measures in treatment. If these do not suffice, the nose and throat should be exa- mined by a specialist, and enlarged tonsils, or any chronic inflammatory condition treated as required. Breathlessness, or difficulty in breathing, is not necessarily a sign of heart disease, as it may be present in anaemia. It is also associated with asthma, emphysema, and other lung affections. Another cause of breathlessness is dyspepsia, due to the pressure of a dilated stomach upon the heart, and in obesity breathlessness on exertion is a troublesome symptom. When difficult breathing is due to heart disease there are other evidences of cardiac disease generally present, which require to be diagnosed and treated by a medical man. BPight'S Disease is an inflammation of the kidneys due to the action of cold or certain poisonous agents. The disease may be either acute or chronic. Exposure to cold and wet may bring on acute inflammation of the kidneys. The infectious fevers, such as typhoid, measles, chicken-pox, diphtheria, are sometimes compli- cated with acute Bright's disease. The disease comes on suddenly, especially when it follows a chill. In the course of fevers, however, the onset is gradual. The patient looks pale, and there are puffiness of the face and swelling of the eyelids. Pain in the back, sickness, and high temperature are usually present. The skin is dry, and there is suppression of the urine, or water. Dropsy is a marked symptom, and there may be convulsions. The patient must be kept in bed, and given a diet of milk, gruel, and barley-water. Mineral waters and lemonade should be given freely, and everything done to encourage sweating. The patient must, of course, wear a woollen night- dress and blankets. Poultices may be applied to the back over the kidneys, but hot baths or wet packs must be ordered by the doctor,* who alone, also, must be responsible for ordering any drugs. The one important point is to guard against chill. Chronic Bright's disease often follows acute Bright's, or it may come on insidiously, indepen- dent of any acute attack. A marked sign is dropsy, and the face looks pale and puffy. Sick- ness, vomiting, and diarrhoea are often present. In the case of chronic Bright's disease the patient must be under the care of a doctor. Domestic measures include the provision of milk or butter-milk as the chief article of food. BPOnehitis is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes of the lungs. It may be " acute " — that is, coming on in a few days, lasting two to three weeks, and gradually subsiding. On the other hand, it may be " chronic," extending over a period of years, and attended by shortness of breath, wheeziness, and cough. Acute bronchitis is the commonest disease of .the lungs in this country. It may follow upon exposure to damp and chill. It is sometimes caused by spreading downwards of a catarrh of the throat and nose. It frequently complicates many of the acute infectious fevers such as measles, whooping-cough, and typhoid. Certain occupations increase the liability to bronchitis. Mill workers often develop it, partly from the irritating dust in factories and partly from the dampness of the atmosphere necessary in spinning-rooms. Cabmen, postmen, and those exposed to all sorts and conditions of weather are apt to contract bronchitis. Children and old people are especially susceptible, and every care should be taken in these cases to ensure as quick and complete a recovery as possible. Bronchitis generally begins with a feeling of tightness and soreness in the chest, with cough and difficulty in breathing. The temperature is about ICG or ioi°, and there is often headache present and a general feeling of illness. The treattnent of Bronchitis will be dealt with more Jully in Parti <?/" Every Woman's Encyclopedia, iti which this section of ^^ Woman s Medical Book '^ will be continued.
