350. _Remarks on the Use of Blisters._—Blisters are of great value in many cases, but unless used with care and discrimination they may do _more harm than good_. Thus, a blister applied at the outset or during the acute stage of inflammation will increase the mischief, whereas in the advanced stages its action may prove in the highest degree beneficial. During pregnancy a blister to the chest has been known to induce premature labour, retention of urine, &c., and applied to a person suffering from scurvy it is apt to induce troublesome ulceration. To prevent gangrene, which has occasionally resulted from a blister, especially in children, it is advisable not to allow it to remain on more than ten minutes, then to remove it and apply a warm rice poultice. In infants a thin piece of muslin should be placed between the skin and the plaster. If strangury follow its use, the patient should drink plentifully of decoction of Abelmoschus (2), Rice _Conjee_ (322), or other demulcents, avoiding those of an oleaginous nature. After the fluid has been let out, which is easily done by snipping the raised cuticle in two or three places with a pair of sharp-pointed scissors, the blistered surface should be dressed with plantain-leaf, as directed in paragraph 307_a_. 351. +Tinospora cordifolia+, _Miers._, +Gulancha+. Gulanchá, Gul-bél (_Hind._), Gul-bél (_Duk._), Gul-lanchá (_Beng._), Giló, Gúlanch (_Punj._), Bekh-gilló (_Kash._), Shindi-kodi (_Tam._), Tippa-tíge, Gadúchi (_Tel._), Amruta, Chitr-amruta (_Mal._), Amruta-balli (_Can._), Gula-vélí (_Mah._), Gul-vél (_Guz._), Rasa-kinda (_Cing._), Sinza-manné, Singomoné (_Burm._), Piturali, Akar-Sarimtooro (_Malay_). 351_b_. This twining shrub is common in most parts of India. The root and stems, which are the parts employed in medicine, should be collected in the hot season when the bitter principle is most abundant and concentrated. As met with in the bazaars it consists of dried transverse segments of a woody stem, varying in diameter from one quarter of an inch to two inches, and from half an inch to two inches in length; they have a shrunken appearance, and are covered with a smooth shrivelled bark, some of the pieces being marked on their surface with warty prominences; inodorous, of a very bitter taste. 352. Gulancha is a very useful tonic, and is best given in Infusion; one ounce of the bruised stem to half a pint of cold water macerated for three hours and strained; of this the dose is from one and a half to three ounces thrice daily; it is rendered more agreeable by the addition of Cinnamon, Cloves, or other aromatics. It has been used with benefit in mild forms of _Intermittent Fevers_, and in _Constitutional Debility_, _and Loss of Appetite after these and other Fevers_. It has also been found useful in some forms of _Dyspepsia_, and in _Chronic Rheumatism_.