POISONED WOUNDS Insect Bites.—For mosquito bites, stings from gnats, wasps, bees, and spiders, ammonia is the best treat ment. Oil may follow, or the parts washed in salt water. Baking soda dissolved in warm water is also good. The sting should be removed. Ben zine is said to be good for bites of harvest bugs. Camphor is a good preventive of bug and gmat bites.
Snake Bite.—Act quickly. When bitten by a snake the first thing to do is to prevent the poison from get ting into the general circulation. This can be done by immediately sucking the wound. Precaution must be used in seeing that the mouth is not sore or the poison swallowed. Shut off the circulation from the part by bandaging the limb—if such it be —tightly, or if in another part, by pressure over the vein. Open the wound with a knife blade and let the blood flow freely, and squeeze the poison out. Some advise use of a cupping glass. Wash the wound with an antiseptic. If a caustic can be had, burn out the wound with it.
This can be done also with a hot iron. Keep the bandage on several hours, and when releasing it do so gradu ally.
Whisky is recommended as a stim ulant.
Dog Bite.—The same treatment as used for snake bite can be used for dog bite. People frequently get very much excited over a bite from a dog. Hydrophobia is rare. I would advise, if the dog shows no signs of being mad, that it be not killed, but penned up and watched. This will, if the dog is normal, relieve the patient and his friends from amdety. Later, when the patient's condition is ab solutely known, such measures may be taken with the dog as may assure the protection of society. In cities where antihydrophobia serum is pro vided, this may be used as a preven tive measure.
All animal and rodent bites should receive the same attention a,s has been recommended for dog bites.