Page 397 - My FlipBook

HEMORRHAGE—TREATMENT. 393 ;

press ; but the one best adapted to any given case,
will be determined by circumstances; such as the
extent of the wound, the character of the hemor-

rhage, the location of the injury, and the size of the
mouth.
A very common method of making compression in
the socket from which a tooth has been drawn, is, to
force into the cavity pledgets of cotton, or small
strips of linen, tightly, till it is full. It is well to
saturate these with a solution of tannin, or some
astringent preparation, applying it, too, in connection

with the compression. In some cases, a simple pack-
ing of the cavity in this manner, is quite sufficient
but, in others, it is necessary to retain the pledgets
in the socket by means of further compression. This
is effected by placing a roll of linen, or perhaps bet-
ter, a properly formed piece of cork on the packing,
and then closing the jaws tightly upon this, and, if
need be, placing a bandage under the chin, and tying
it firmly over the head. The length of time during

which it will be necessary to keep the jaws thus
together, will, depending on the nature of the case, be
from one to six hours. After the hemorrhage has
entirely ceased, the bandage is to be removed care-
fully, and the patient instructed to hold the jaws
together on the compress for a time, and then gradu-
ally to open the mouth, and remove the cork with