hdrawing it
from the rectum is a filthy but not uncommon practice. The syringe
should be kept clean inside and out; it should be washed in hot
soapsuds, rinsed in clean hot water, drained, and when thoroughly dry
wrapped in a clean towel or tissue paper. The ordinary fountain syringe
hanging for months by a dirty string on a hook in the bath room is an
unpleasant and generally an unclean object.

SPRAYS AND GARGLES.--Several other methods of administering medicines
are occasionally employed. Some remedies may be applied directly to the
throat by gargles, and to the nose and throat by sprays. The throat may
be cleansed by gargling with a solution of a teaspoonful of baking soda
or common salt in a glass of warm water. Nose sprays should not be used
except under medical advice, and it is well to remember that if the
mouth washes, gargles, and sprays advertised to be disinfectants were
really strong enough to kill germs, they would be too harsh for common
or continued use. The nozzles of nose and throat sprays should be boiled
immediately after use. A surprising number of families who have
progressed far beyond common drinking cups and towels, continue to use a
common nose spray without even washing the nozzle. Children while they
are well should be taught to gargle the throat; a child with a sore
throat and an aching head is in a poor condition to learn anything.

INHALATION or breathing in, is another method used to introduce drugs
into the membranes of the nose, throat, and lungs. Smelling salts are an
example of substances used for inhalation; they are used to stimulate
persons who are faint. They should not be placed close to the nostrils,
nor used at all when the patient is totally unconscious.

Inhalations of steam are often used in asthma, croup, and bronchitis.
Special croup kettles are made for the purpose, but an ordinary pitcher
half full of boiling water may be used instead. The patient's head
should be held closely over the pitcher, and a towel should be adjusted
around the top covering the patient's nose and mouth, but admitting just
enough air to make it possible for him to breathe. If a drug is ordered
it should be added to the water.

INUNCTION, or rubbing a substance into the skin, is sometimes ordered
for delicate babies and children. After the skin of the abdomen has been
washed with warm soapy water and thoroughly dried, the substance
ordered, generally olive oil or cod liver oil, should be applied