A Simple Remedy for Ringworm
Use thinly-made mustard. With the top of the finger rub this semi-liquid first outside the sore, then over it, always rubbing in a circle and gently, and for a few seconds only. Repeat twice a day while necessary. For a child it is a painful cure; but a grown-up person will not mind a few hours’ smarting, and will find the cure rapid and effectual.
Source: Audel’s Household Helps, Hints and Receipts
Definition: Felon
A felon is an infection within the flesh of the finger. It may be caused by bacteria having entered through a puncture wound.
Bleeding, Powdered Alum and Hot Water Stops
“A heaping teaspoonful of powdered alum, placed in a teacup of water will stop the flow of blood in ordinary wounds, where no large artery has been cut. This will be found very beneficial for children, when their finger has been cut and bleeding badly.” Alum is something that should always be kept in the home, using it in a case of emergency when there is no time to run to the drug store.
Source: Mother’s Remedies: Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remidies from Mothers of the United States and Canada, T. J. Ritter
Boil, Another Vinegar Remedy for
“If taken at first a boil can be cured by dipping the finger in strong vinegar and holding on the boil until it stops smarting. Repeat three or four times then apply a little oil to the head of boil.”
Source: Mother’s Remedies: Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remidies from Mothers of the United States and Canada, T. J. Ritter
After Receiving A Bruise On The Finger Nail
plunge the finger into water as hot as can be borne. By doing so the nail is softened, and yields so as to accommodate itself to the blood poured out beneath it, and the pain is soon diminished. The finger may then be wrapped in a bread-and-water poultice. On the following, or on the third day, the blood has clotted; and separating into its clot and fluid parts, the pressure it makes on the sensitive skin under the nail may be relieved by scraping the nail with a penknife till it becomes so thin that the scraping causes pain. The thin nail left is very light, and the pressure is mitigated; but if the squeezed part of the nail be very black, and tender when touched, it is best, after scraping, to make a nick through the remaining nail over the black blood, and immediately the watery part gushes out, the pressure almost entirely ceases, and instantaneous relief is afforded, but it unfortunately rarely, if ever, prevents the nail from coming off.
Source: Home Notes, January 1895.