Fomentation

Fomentation (Lat. fomentatio, fomentum; from foveo, 'I warm'), an application of warmth and moisture to a part, by means of cloths wrung out of hot water, sometimes medicated with vegetable infusions of substances calculated to relieve pain or stimulate the surface. Thus, opium, belladonna, camomile, turpentine, &c. are used in various forms in connection with fomentations, which are employed in almost all painful local disorders. A fomentation can generally best be made by laying a strong towel across an empty basin, placing upon it a piece of flannel, folded to the proper size, pouring over this sufficient boiling water to wet it, and wringing it out inside the towel. It can thus be applied at once hotter and less wet than if it is wrung out by the hands alone. A sheet of waterproof material should be placed over it, to prevent wetting of the clothes, &c.; and another flannel substituted as soon as the first becomes cool.