BEDSORES are often a very troublesome complication of disease, to which a patient is liable whoa for a long time confined to bed, and is either unable or is not allowed to change his position. Thus they are liable to occur in cases of continued fever, or any other prolonged debilitating disorder, in paralysis from injury of the spinal cord, and in cases of fracture of the thigh. The skin, at certain projecting bony parts, chiefly about the region of the buttocks, or on the heel, is apt to inflame, ulcerate, and slough, espe cially if the patient is not kept perfectly clean—as, for example, when the evacuations and urine escape The patient sometimes complains of a sense of discom fort at the parts, as if he were lying on dry crumbs of bread; at other times, he seems to feel nothing. Hence, in all cases of prolonged supine position, the parts naturally pressed upon by the weight of the body should be carefully examined every day or two, as prevention is far easier than cure. When a long confinement to bed is expected, attempts should be made to thicken the cuticle, and enable it to bear pressure better, by rubbing the skin with a stimulant such as spirits or eau-de-Cologne. If the part, when
first seen, looks red and rough, further damage is often prevented by covering it with a piece of calico. on which soap.plastcr has been spread; the local pressure may be removed by air-cushions specially constructed for cases of this kind, and in many instances, Arnott's water-bed (q.v.) affords great comfort. If the case is one in which it is admissible, the patient should be made to alter his position frequently. When there are excoriations, and a threatening of sloughing, a poultice composed of equal parts of bread-crumbs and of finely-gratecr mutton suet, mixed over the tire in a saucepan, with a little boiling water. is often a comforting and useful application. After sloughing has fairly begun, stimulating applications, such as resin ointment, must be applied. It is worthy of notice that bed-sores come on earlier in cases of fractured spine titan in any other: they generally appear by the fourth day, and have been seen two days after the accident. They commonly form one of the most powerful agents in destroying life in cases of this accident, diseases of the urinary organs being the other.