Chapter 14

PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Dandruff.--If there are general diseases, they should be treated.

[SKIN DISEASES 85]

Local--In mild cases, shampooing with hot water and a good soap may be sufficient when the scales and crusts are thick and abundant; first soften them with olive oil and then remove them with hot water and green soap.

After the scalp has been cleaned, the remedies should be applied. The remedies should be thoroughly rubbed in and applied in the form of ointments or lotions and used once daily. Cutting the hair may be necessary. The odor of sulphur may be overcome by the use of perfume. If the scalp becomes too dry after shampooing some oil should first be applied, whatever application is used afterwards.

Remedies.--Resorcin, sulphur, salicylic acid, in combination with other ingredients. Some favorite prescriptions are now given:

1. Resorcin 1 to 2 drams Pure Castor Oil 1 dram Alcohol 2 ounces

Mix and rub well into the scalp.

2. Precipitated Sulphur 1 dram Salicylic Acid 15 grains Ointment Petrolatum 1 ounce

3. Washed Sulphur 4 drams Castor Oil 10 drams Oil of Cocoa 1 ounces Balsam of Peru 1/2 ounce

Apply twice daily.

4. Carbolic Acid 20 drops to 1 dram Oil of Almonds 4 drams Oil of Lemon 1 dram Distilled Water, enough to make 2 ounces

Apply after washing.

The oily type is best treated with lotions and powders. The disease is very obstinate, but generally gets well.

WEN (Sebaceous Cyst. Steatoma).--A wen varies in size from a millet seed to an egg, and it is due to the distention of a sebaceous gland by its retained secretions. They occur most commonly on the scalp, face and back. They cause no pain, grow slowly, and after they have grown to a certain size remain stationary for an indefinite time. Sometimes they become inflamed and ulcerate.

Treatment.--Make a free cut and take the mass out. Its covering (capsule) or sac must be removed at the same time, for if any of this membrane (capsule) is left it will fill up again. Equal parts of fine salt and the yolk of an egg beaten together and applied continuously will eat the skin open and the mass can then be taken out. This is quite painful and takes several days, while with the knife there is little pain if cocaine is injected and it will all be over in a few minutes.

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RINGWORM (Tinea Trichophytina).--Ringworm is a contagious disease of the skin, produced by the presence of a vegetable parasite. The disease affects the hair follicles of the scalp and the beard, and also of the portions of the body that, seemingly at least, have no hair.

Varieties.--Ringworm affecting the body called Tinea Circinata. Ringworm affecting the scalp called Tinea Tonsurans. Ringworm affecting the beard, etc., Tinea Barbae (barbers' itch).

Ringworm of the Body.--This type of ringworm usually begins as one or several round, somewhat raised and very small, defined congested spots and these are covered with a few branny scales. The disease extends from the circumference and, while healing in the center, assumes a shape like a ring and these rings may become as large as a silver dollar and remain the same size for months or years, or they may go together (coalesce) to form circle (gyrate) patches. Vesicle and pimples frequently crop out at the circumference.

Mothers' Remedies for Ringworm.--1. Gunpowder and Vinegar for.--"Make a paste of gunpowder and vinegar and apply. Sometimes one application will be sufficient; if not, repeat."

2. Ringworm, Cigar Ashes for.--"Wet the sore and cover with cigar ashes. Repeat frequently. This will cure if taken in time." This is a very simple and effective remedy. Cigar ashes are always easy to obtain and if applied to the ringworm at the very beginning, the nicotine in the tobacco will draw out the soreness and relieve the inflammation.

3. Ringworm, Kerosene for.--"Apply kerosene with the finger or a cloth several times a day."

4. Ringworm, Ontario Mother Cured Boy of.--"Wash head with vinegar and paint with iodine to kill germ. Cured a neighbor's boy."

5. Ringworm, Another from a Mother at Valdosta, Georgia.--"Burdock root and vinegar." Take the dock root and steep it the same as any ordinary herb tea, then add your vinegar, making the proportions about half and half. Apply this to the affected part.

6. Ringworm, Egg Skin Remedy for.--"Take the inner skin of an egg and wrap around it, and cover with a piece of cloth."

7. Ringworm, from a Mother at Owosso. Michigan.--"Take gunpowder and wet it and put it on the sores," This remedy has been tried a great many times and always gives relief when taken right at the beginning. So many people will wait, thinking the ringworm will disappear of its own accord, instead of giving some simple home remedy like the above a trial.

[SKIN DISEASES 87]

PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Ringworm.--1. For infants and children simpler remedies should be used at first. Scrub each patch with tincture of green soap, or merely good soap and water may be employed. Then apply tincture of iodine to the patches, once or twice a day, enough to irritate the patches. Dilute acetic acid, or dilute carbolic acid will do the same work. A ten per cent solution of sodium hyposulphite is a good remedy also.

2. Corrosive sublimate, one to four grains to the ounce of water, is very good to put on the patches. For children the strength should be about one-half grain to the ounce.

3. Ammoniated mercury is also very good to put on. Sometimes a combination of remedies will do better, as follows:

Milk of Sulphur 2-1/2 drams Spirits of Green Soap 6 drams Tincture of Lavender 6 drams Glycerin 1/2 dram

4. Pure Iodine 2 ounces Oil of Tar 1 ounce

Mix with care gradually.

5. Creasote 20 drops Oil of Cadini 3 drams Precipitated Sulphur 3 drams Bicarbonate Potash 1 dram Lard 1 ounce

Mix, to be used in obstinate cases in adults.

Ringworm of the Scalp.--Cautions and Treatment.--Be careful that others do not catch it from you. Separate the child affected. Cleanse the diseased parts from time to time by shampooing with a strong soap. The hair over the whole scalp should be clipped short and the affected parts shaved, or if allowed, the hairs in the affected parts pulled out. The remedies are then applied if possible in the shape of ointments, which are thoroughly rubbed in. Vaselin and lanolin are better as a base for the medicine, as they penetrate deeper. Following remedies are the most valuable:

1. Carbolic acid, one to two drams to glycerin one ounce.

2. Oleate of mercury, strength ten to twenty per cent.

3. Sulphur Ointment, ten to twenty per cent strength.

4. Tincture of Iodine.

This variety lasts longer than the ringworms on the body, months sometimes are required to cure it.

BARBER'S ITCH (Ringworm of the Beard).--Mother's Remedies. 1. Standard Remedy for.--"Plain vaselin two ounces, venice turpentine one-half ounce, red precipitate one-half ounce. Apply locally. Great care should be taken not to expose affected parts to cold and draughts while ointment is in use, especially if affected surface is large." The above is a standard remedy and will be found very effective in all cases of barber's itch. The vaselin will assist in healing the sores and softening up the scabs.

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2. Barber's Itch, Healing Ointment for.--"Plain vaselin four ounces, sulphur two ounces, sal-ammoniac powder two drams. Mix and apply daily after cleansing the parts thoroughly with castile soap and soda water. This is also an almost infallible cure for common itch." The vaselin is very good and healing, while the sulphur has a soothing effect and is a good antiseptic.

3. Barber's Itch, Reliable Remedy for.--"Citrine ointment one dram, vaselin or cosmolin one ounce. Mix thoroughly. Wash the affected parts clean and apply this ointment on a soft rag three times a day." This is a standard remedy and one to be relied upon. It is very soothing and has great healing properties.

4. Barber's Itch, Sulphur and Lard for.--"Sulphur and lard mixed together and applied three or four times a day. Have found this to be the best of anything ever used for barber's itch." This remedy will be found very good if the case is not very severe. If the face is covered with sores, filled with pus and of long standing a stronger treatment should be used. See other Mothers' Remedies, also Doctors' Treatment.

5. Barber's Itch, Cuticura Ointment for.--"Apply cuticura ointment to the sores, and as it draws out the water press a clean cloth against the sore to absorb the water. This will generally draw the water out in three or four days."

PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Barber's Itch.--Pulling out the hairs or close shaving every day. Keep the affected parts soaking with olive oil for two successive days. The evening of the third day the shampoo is employed, the skin is washed free from crusts and scales, shave cleanly. After shaving bathe the parts for ten minutes with borated water, as hot as can be borne; while this is being done, all pustules or points where there is a mucous fluid coming out to the surface are opened with a clean needle. Sponge freely over the affected surface with a strong solution of hyposulphite of sodium for several minutes and not allow it to dry; this solution may contain one dram and perhaps more to the ounce. After a thorough and final washing with hot water, the tender skin is carefully dried and gently smeared with a sulphur ointment containing one to two drams of sulphur to the ounce of vaselin, often with the addition of from one-quarter to one-half grain of mercuric sulphide. In the morning wash the ointment off with soap and water, the sodium solution is reapplied and a borated or salicylated powder is thoroughly dusted and kept over the parts during the day and apply ointment at night. The shaving must be repeated at least the next day. As soon as there are no pustules (lumps), or they have diminished in size, the ointment at night is superseded by the use of the dusting powder. The washing with very hot water and with the solution hyposulphite is continued nightly, when the inflammation excited by the parasite is limited to the follicles that are invaded. Continue the dusting powder after the ointment is discontinued.

[SKIN DISEASES 89]

WART (Verucca). Mothers' Remedies.--1. An Application for, also Good for Cuts and Lacerations.--"Make a lotion of ten drops tincture of marigold to two ounces of water and apply." This is also good for severe cuts and lacerations. It may be applied by cloths or bandages if the case requires.

2. Warts, Match and Turpentine Wash.--"Dissolve matches in turpentine and apply to wart three or four times," This preparation helps to eat them away and if kept on too long is apt to produce a sore; care should therefore be taken in using this remedy.

3. Warts, Muriate of Ammonia for.--"Take a piece of muriate of ammonia, moisten and rub on the wart night and morning; after a week's treatment the wart, if not extra large, will disappear."

4. Warts, Turpentine for.--"Rub frequently with turpentine for a few days and they will disappear. This is a very simple remedy, but a good one, and worth trying if you are afflicted with warts."

5. Warts, to Remove.--"The juice of the marigold frequently applied is effectual in removing them. Or wash them with tincture of myrrh."

6. Warts, Milkweed Removes.--"Let a drop of the common milkweed soak into the wart occasionally, the wart will loosen and fall out. This can be applied as often as convenient; here in Canada we do not have to go far to get a plant."

7. The following is a good application:

Salicylic Acid 1/2 dram Cannabis Indicia 5 grains Collodion 1 ounce

Mix and apply to the wart.

Tincture of thuja is very good in some cases when applied daily.

HIVES, Nettle Rash (Urticaria). Causes.--Foods such as shell fish, strawberries, cheese, pickles, pork and sausages.

Medicines that may cause it.--Quinine, copaiba, salicylic acid, etc. Disorders of the stomach and bowels. Insects, like mosquito, bedbug, etc.

MOTHERS' REMEDIES.--1. Hives or Nettle Rash, Slippery Elm.--"Slippery elm used as a wash and taken as a drink." Slippery elm is especially good for any skin disease, as it is very soothing to the parts and relieves the itching. If taken as a drink it acts on the kidneys and bowels, throwing off all the impurities.

2. Hives or Nettle Rash, External and Internal Home Medicine for.--"Bathe with weak solution of vinegar. Internal remedy; sweet syrup of rhubarb with small lump of saleratus (size of a pea) dissolved in it. This dose was given to a two-year-old child." The rhubarb helps to rid the stomach and bowels of its impurities, relieving the disease, as hives are usually due to some disorder of the kidneys and bowels.

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3. Hives or Nettle Rash, Tea and Powder for.--"Rub with buckwheat flour; this will relieve the itching almost immediately. Sassafras tea is a good internal remedy."

4. Hives or Nettle Rash, Catnip Tea for.--"Boil catnip leaves to make a tea, slightly sweeten and give about six or eight teaspoonfuls at bed time and keep patient out of draughts." The tea can be taken throughout the day also. If taken hot on going to bed it causes sweating and care should be taken not to catch cold while the pores are opened.

5. Hives or Nettle Rash, Mother from Buckhorn, Florida, says following is a sure Cure for.--"Grease with poplar bud stewed down until strong; take out buds, add one teaspoonful lard, stew all the water out. Grease and wrap up in wool blanket."

6. Hives or Nettle Rash, from a Mother at New Milford, Pennsylvania.--"One tablespoonful castor oil first. Then put one tablespoonful salts and cream tartar in glass of water; take one spoonful before eating. Have used this and found it excellent." The castor oil acts on the bowels and the cream of tartar on the blood.

7. Hives or Nettle Rash, Buttermilk for.--"Buttermilk applied two or three times a day. Found this to be good for nettle rash." Buttermilk is very soothing and will relieve the itching. This is an old tried remedy.

8. Hives or Nettle Rash, Baking Soda Wash for.--"Make a strong solution of common baking soda, about three teaspoonfuls to pint of water. Sponge or bathe body thoroughly." Any mother who has a child in the house knows how valuable baking soda is in case of burns, on account of its cooling properties. For this same reason it will be found excellent for above disease, as it will relieve the itching and is very soothing. Good for children if used not quite as strong.

9. Hives or Nettle Rash, Canada Blue Clay for.--"Mix up blue clay and water to make a paste. Leave until dry and then wash off."

PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Hives or Nettle Rash.--Remove causes. Bowels and kidneys should act freely. Abstain from eating for a day or two if necessary.

For the Itching.--Diluted vinegar, applied is effective. Also camphor.

Cream of Tartar 2 ounces Epsom Salts 2 ounces

Take three or four teaspoonfuls to move the bowels, or one teaspoonful every three hours if the bowels are regular enough. For a child one year old, give one teaspoonful in water every three hours until the bowels move freely.

SUNBURN.--When severe, sunburn may present the symptoms of inflammation of the skin. Then there will be redness, swelling and pain followed by deep discoloration of the skin.

[SKIN DISEASES 91]

MOTHERS' REMEDIES for Sunburn.--1. Lemon Juice and Vinegar for.--"An application of the juice of a lemon or vinegar."

2. Sunburn, Ammonia Water for.--"Ammonia will remove sunburn in one night." Care should be taken in using this remedy. The ammonia should be diluted half with water and not used too often.

3. Sunburn, Relief from Pain and Smarting of.--"Benzoated zinc ointment or vaselin applied to the affected parts is sure to give relief and avoid much pain and smarting."

4. Sunburn, Preparation for.--"I have found nothing better than mentholatum." Mentholatum is simply a mixture of vaselin or cosmolin and menthol. They are both very healing, and will be found beneficial.

PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Sunburn.--Soothing ointments and dusting powders are generally sufficient for sunburn. Talcum powder (Mennen's borated), rice powder, oatmeal powders are good and healing. The following are good:

1. Oxide of Zinc Powder 1/2 ounce Powdered Camphor 1-1/2 dram Powdered Starch 1 ounce

Mix. Dust on the parts.

2. Powdered Starch 1 ounce Powdered Camphor 1 dram

Well mixed and applied is soothing to the parts.

3. The following is a good combination:

Carbonate of Lead 1 dram Powdered Starch 1 dram Ointment of Rose Water 1 ounce Olive Oil 2 drams

Mix and apply to the inflamed skin.

GANGRENE.--This is the death of a part of the body in mass. There are two forms, moist and dry.

Dry Gangrene.--This is a combination produced by a loss of water from the tissues. The skin becomes dark and wrinkled and is often hard, like leather. Senile or old age gangrene, and really due to the arterial sclerosis, usually occurs in the lower extremities, involving the toes. A slight injury may first start up the trouble. The pain in this variety is not usually great.

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MOTHERS' REMEDIES.--1. Gangrene, Remedy from New York that cured a Gangrenous Case.--"A man aged 74 years had a sore below the knee for fifteen years; at last gangrene appeared in his foot and three physicians pronounced his case hopeless on account of his age. I was called as a neighbor and found the foot swollen to twice its natural size, and the man in pain from head to foot. I ordered cabbage leaves steamed until wilted, then put them over the limb from knee to foot and covered with a cloth. In about fifteen minutes they were black, so we removed them and put on fresh ones, repeating the change until the leaves did not turn black. Then the sore was thoroughly cleansed with a weak solution of saleratus and while wet was thickly covered with common black pepper and wrapped up. The saleratus water and pepper was changed night and morning until the sore was entirely healed. After the third day this man had no pain, and in four weeks was entirely healed. A year later he said he had never had any trouble with it or with rheumatism which he had had for years before."

PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Gangrene.--The skin should be treated. Poultices sometimes may be good, or bottles of hot water around the parts. A general tonic should be given.

Moist Gangrene. Causes.--Wounds, fractures, injuries, pressure from lying in bed and frost bite.

PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Moist Gangrene.--Remove the cause if possible. This kind is more dangerous, and a physician should be called as the best treatment that can be given is none too good.

BLISTER.--This is a watery elevation of the outer skin. It is caused by rubbing, for instance of a shoe, friction from anything, or from burns. It frequently appears on the hands after working for some time at manual labor, when the hands are not accustomed to work. It is the common blister which hardly needs much describing.

MOTHERS' REMEDIES for Blister.--1. Linseed Oil for.--"Linseed oil used freely." This is a very good remedy because it is soothing. Any good soothing lotion or salve that will draw out the soreness and pain is helpful.

2. Blister. A Method of Raising a Blister.--"If a blister is needed take an ordinary thick tumbler, rub alcohol inside and around the rim, then invert over a piece of cotton, saturated with alcohol and ignited; after a few minutes the glass may be removed and clapped on the surface of the body. As the glass contains rarified air the flesh will be drawn up into it and a blister formed."

IVY POISONING.--The parts usually affected are the hands, face, the genitals, the arms, the thighs and neck.

Symptoms.--These usually appear soon. Red patches, with scanty or profuse watery pimples, with a watery discharge after bursting. There is swelling, intense burning and itching. The parts sometimes swell very much and look watery. The person can hardly keep from scratching.

MOTHERS' REMEDIES.--1. Ivy Poisoning, Buttermilk and Copperas for.--"Wash in copperas and buttermilk three or four times a day. Have seen this used and it helped." The copperas and buttermilk is very good when applied to the parts immediately after the poison is discovered. The copperas acts very much like sugar of lead and in some cases is very much more effective.

[SKIN DISEASES 93]

2. Ivy Poisoning, Cure for.--

"Bromine 10 to 20 drops Olive Oil 1 ounce

Mix. Rub the mixture gently into the affected parts three or four times a day. The bromine being volatile the solution should be freshly made."

This remedy is frequently used by physicians, and is very effective.

CHAPPED HANDS AND FACE. Mothers' Remedies.--1. Chapped Hands, Quince Seed Cream for.--"Soak one teaspoonful of quince seeds in one cup warm water over night. Strain through a cloth and add one ounce glycerin, five cents' worth bay rum, and perfume if you choose."

2. Chapped Hands, Soothing Lotion for.--"Bathe them in soft water using ivory soap and Indian meal; when dry bathe in vinegar. Have tried this treatment and my hands feel soft and easy after treatment." It would be best to dilute the vinegar with water one-half.

3. Chapped Hands, Glycerin for.--"Use glycerin freely." Glycerin is very irritating to some people, then again it works like a charm. You can tell only by trying it.

4. Chapped Hands, Carbolic Salve for.--"We always use a good carbolic salve for these, as we have found nothing better for sores of any kind." A few drops of carbolic acid added to any good salve will give you the above.

5. Chapped Hands, Glycerin and Lemon Juice for.--"Two-thirds glycerin, one-third lemon juice, mix well together; apply nights."

6. Chapped Hands, Camphor Ice for.--"Camphor ice." Apply frequently after thoroughly washing and drying the hands.

7. Chapped Hands, Remedy from a New York Lady.--

Glycerin 4 ounces Cologne 2 ounces Benzoin 1/2 ounce Rain water 1 pint

Mix thoroughly and apply to the hands after washing.

This remedy has also been used for years by a friend, and we have proved it good. If applied frequently during the winter the hands will not chap."

8. Chapped Hands, Rose Cream for.--"Get ten cents' worth of rose water, five cents' worth of glycerin and the juice of one lemon. Mix and rub on the affected parts,"

9. Chapped Hands, Preventive for.--"A little diluted honey or almond oil will restore softness and prevent chapping."

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10. Chapped Hands or Face, from a Twin Falls Idaho, Mother.--"One-fourth ounce gum tragacanth dissolved in one and half pints of soft water; then add ounce each of alcohol, glycerin and witch-hazel, also a little perfume. I find this one of the best remedies I ever used for sore or chapped hands."

PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Chapped Hands.--

1. Subnitrate of Bismuth 3 drams Oleate of Zinc 3 drams Lycopodium 2 drams

Mix. Apply to the parts three times daily.

2. Powdered camphor mixed with vaselin is healing.

3. Ointment of water of roses (cold cream) is a soothing application. It can be improved by adding a little glycerin and benzoic acid--this keeps it sweet in warm weather.

4. Powdered zinc oxide, or starch as a dusting powder.

FACE CREAMS, Mothers' Preparations.--l. Cream of Pond Lilies.--"This agrees especially well with oily skins; will keep indefinitely.