Blowing the nose, as has been pointed out, is unwise, but the water may be removed to some extent by "clearing the throat." The reduction of swelling at the entrance of the Eustachian tube in the back of the nose can be properly treated only by an expert, as some astringent (glycerite of tannin) must be applied on cotton wound on a curved applicator, and the instrument passed above and behind the roof of the mouth into the region back of the nose. Rubbing the parts just in front of the external opening into the ear with the tip of one finger for a period of a few minutes several times a day will also favor recovery in this trouble. FOOTNOTES: [1] See p. 49. [2] Caution. Ask the doctor first. [3] Tablets for the preparation of Seiler's solution are to be found at most druggists. CHAPTER II =The Nose and Throat= _Cold in the Head--Mouth-Breathing--Toothache--Sore Mouth--Treatment of Tonsilitis--Quinsy--Diphtheria._ =NOSEBLEED.=--Nosebleed is caused by blows or falls, or more frequently by picking and violently blowing the nose. The cartilage of the nasal septum, or partition which divides the two nostrils, very often becomes sore in spots, owing to irritation of dust-laden air, and these crust over and lead to itching. Then "picking the nose" removes the crusts, and frequent nosebleed results. Nosebleed also is common in both full-blooded and anaemic persons; in the former because of the high pressure within the blood vessels, in the latter owing to the thin walls of the arteries and capillaries which readily rupture. Nosebleed is again an accompaniment of certain general disorders, as heart disease and typhoid fever. The bleeding comes usually from one nostril only, and is a general oozing from the mucous membrane, or more commonly flows from one spot on the septum near the nostril, the cause of which we have just noted. The blood may spout forth in a stream, as after a blow, or trickle away drop by drop, but is rarely dangerous except in infants and aged persons with weak blood vessels. In the case of the latter the occurrence of bleeding from the nose is thought to indicate brittle vessels and a tendency to apoplexy, which may be averted by the nosebleed. This is uncertain. If nosebleed comes on at night during sleep, the blood may flow into the stomach without the patient's knowledge, and on being vomited may suggest bleeding from the stomach.