Should the child
fall asleep during the process, and begin to perspire, it must be
intermitted, but resumed again on a recurrence of the parching heat.
Ice and iced water are most frequently employed in affections of the
brain. The former is most conveniently applied in a well-cleaned pig's
bladder, which should be half filled with broken fragments of the ice.
The bladder prevents moisture about the clothes, and, from its smooth
and pliant nature, readily accommodates itself to every part of the
child's head. If iced water is used, care must be taken that the cloths
are sufficiently large to cover the whole of the head, and they should
be doubled to prevent their getting rapidly warm. Indeed, in applying
cold locally, as in inflammation of the brain, one rule it is of the
utmost importance to observe, viz. that the application of the cold
shall be continuous; therefore a second set of cold cloths or bags of
ice should be applied before the former has become warm. This plan,
especially pursued during the night, along with judicious internal
treatment, will save many children from perishing under the most
insidious and fatal disease of childhood--water on the brain.
If neither water of a sufficiently low temperature, nor ice, can be
procured, then recourse may be had to refrigerating mixtures, of which
the following is a good form:--
Common water, five pints;
Vinegar, two pints;
Nitre, eight ounces;
Sal ammoniac, four ounces.
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