How did people treat a bullet wound to the leg in the 1800s?
depends on the exact location if a big blood vessel is cut (femoral artery, vein) or a bone was smashed- then instant amputation would be the only cure a flesh wound would be treated- depending on the local fashion. Some would use hot iron to burn the wound out, and stop the bleeding (coagulate blood vessels). If the burn was too deep the wound would rot and then amputation some people would apply poultices- mixtures of herbs and stuff. In Poland a mixture of fresh bread and cobwebs was used- quite effective since the mix contains pennicilin (sadly fresh cobwebs are not available in industrial amounts) a medical man or a surgeon/barber (the two professions were separate then) could dress and stich the wound and also drain the wound- which would take care of most infections (except gangrene) any wise man who expected to fight would wear a silk shirt/ breeches (short throusers). Quite often the bullet would fail to pierce the silk- and then could be taken out of the wound by pulling on t
