The People's Common Sense Medical Adviser in Plain English Part 41

ALPHOUS AFFECTIONS.

(SCALY SKIN DISEASES.)

Differences of opinion exist with regard to the proper cla.s.sification of these affections. We shall briefly consider _alphos_, which is sometimes confounded with _lepra_.

ALPHOS, which from its Greek derivation signifies _white_, is characterized by circular, slightly raised white spots. These eruptions vary in size from one line to two inches in diameter, and may be scattered over the entire surface of the body, although they most frequently appear upon the elbows and knees. Alphos may consist of a single tubercle, or of large cl.u.s.ters const.i.tuting patches. The scales vary in color and thickness. In Colored Plate III, Figs. 14 and 15, are fine ill.u.s.trations of alphos. When a person begins to recover from this affection, the scales fall off, leaving a smooth red surface, which gradually returns to its natural color.

This disease is more liable to occur in winter than in summer, although in some cases the reverse holds true. It may disappear for a time, only to return again with renewed vigor. It is not regarded as contagious.

TREATMENT. Thorough and protracted const.i.tutional treatment is required to overcome this disease. Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery should be taken internally and also applied locally to the affected parts. To every other bottle of the "Discovery" which is taken, one-half ounce of the iodide of potash may be added. One or two of the "Pellets" taken daily will prove a useful adjunct to the "Discovery."

Locally, we have sometimes applied a lotion made of oxide of zinc, one-half drachm; benzoic acid, two drachms; morphine, five grains; glycerine, two ounces. Tincture of the chloride of iron, one drachm in one ounce of glycerine, makes an excellent local application. Whatever the local treatment may be, however, we chiefly rely upon the _persistent_ use of the best alteratives, or blood-cleansing medicines.

AFFECTIONS OF THE HAIR-FOLLICLES.

FAVUS (_Scald Head_) is a disease peculiar to the hair-follicles, and is indicated by the formation of small yellow crusts, having the form of an inverted cup. The eruption has a very offensive odor. When it appears in isolated cups, it is termed _favus dispersus_, but it often occurs in large cl.u.s.ters, as represented in Colored Plate II, Fig. 12, and is then termed _favus confertus_. It generally affects the scalp, but sometimes extends to the face and neck.

CAUSE. Favus is caused by nutritive debility, which results in a perverted cell-growth.

SYCOSIS (_Barber's Itch_) is an inflammatory affection of the hair follicles of the face. The prominent features of the disease are redness and the formation of scales. It is peculiar to males. It has received various names, according to its predominating characteristics, such as _sycosis papulosa, tuberculosa_, and _fungulosa_. Colored Plate II, Fig.

10, is a line ill.u.s.tration of sycosis as it appears on the cheek.

CAUSES. Various causes induce the appearance of sycosis. The general causes are nutritive debility, vicissitudes of heat and cold, and an exhausted state of the nervous system. It may also result from various chronic diseases, such as syphilis and dyspepsia.

COMEDONES, or _grubs_, are due to a retention of the sebaceous matter in the follicles. The sebaceous substance undergoes a change, becoming granular and somewhat hardened. It gradually extends to the mouth of the follicle, where it comes in contact with the atmosphere, and a.s.sumes a dark color, as represented in Plate II, Fig. 8. This fact, together with its peculiar form when squeezed out of the skin, has caused it to be termed _grub_. They often appear in great numbers on the face of persons whose circulation is not active, or those who are of a particularly nervous temperament. Stimulating baths and friction will prove very efficacious in removing these cylinders of sebaceous matter. If they are allowed to remain, they will produce an irritation of the skin causing an inflammatory disease known as acne, or stone-pock.

ACNE OR STONE-POCK. In the earliest stage of congestion, acne is characterized by minute hardened elevations of the skin, as shown in Plate II, Fig. 9, and is termed _acne punctata_. As the affection progresses, a bright red pimple, Plate II, Fig. 11, appears, having a conical form, hence the name _acne coniformis_. The pimple develops into a pustule containing yellow "matter," and is then known as _acne pustulosa_. This is followed by a thickening of the tissues, termed _acne tuberculata_. When the thicker skin is removed, it leaves a deep scar, hence the term _acne indurata_.

CAUSES. The remote cause of acne is nutritive debility. The immediate causes are rapid growth, anaemia, improper food, errors of hygiene, mental exhaustion, and various chronic diseases.

TREATMENT. The treatment of favus or scald-head should be commenced by shaving the hair off close to the scalp and washing the head thoroughly with soap and water. In some severe cases, it may be necessary to soften the incrustations with poultices, following these with a free use of soap and water. Having thus exposed the scalp and thoroughly divested it of incrustations, apply to it the ointment of iodide of sulphur, which may be procured at any good drug store. It should be gently rubbed over the parts night and morning. The scalp ought to be kept perfectly clean throughout the treatment. Instead of the foregoing, the following may be applied: Take oxalic acid, ten grains; creosote, twenty drops; water, two ounces; mix. Half an hour after using this lotion, anoint the head freely with b.u.t.ter or lard; it will add greatly to the efficacy of the treatment. But while local applications will relieve many skin diseases and mitigate suffering, we cannot too strongly impress upon the minds of our readers the importance, in this as in all other chronic diseases of the skin, of perseverance in the use of the best alteratives. In this cla.s.s of agents Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery stands pre-eminent. Its efficacy may be increased in this disease by adding to each bottle one ounce of the acetate of potash, and, when thus modified, it may be administered in the same manner as if no addition had been made to it.

_The Treatment of Sycosis_ should be essentially the same as that suggested for favus, and it will result in prompt relief and a permanent cure.

_Treatment of Acne._ In the treatment of this, as in that of other diseases, we should seek to ascertain the cause, and, when possible, remove it. Outdoor exercise, a spare, unstimulating diet, and perfect cleanliness are of the first importance. The affected parts should be bathed with warm water and Castile, or, what is better, carbolic soap.

Washing the face in cold water generally aggravates the disease. As a local application to the pustules, we have used with good results the following lotion: Oxide of zinc, twenty grains; morphine, five grains; glycerine, two ounces: mix. First having washed the affected parts thoroughly, apply this compound. Our chief reliance, however, as in the preceding diseases, should be upon the persistent use of alteratives and mild cathartics or laxatives.

FURUNCULAR AFFECTIONS. (BOIL-LIKE AFFECTIONS.)

Under this head properly belong boils, carbuncles, and styes.

BOILS. These annoying affections are hard, prominent, circ.u.mscribed, inflamed, suppurating tumors, having their seat in the cellular tissue beneath the skin. They vary in size from a pea to a hen's egg, and may occur on any part of the body. The color of a boil varies from deep red to mahogany. It is painful, tender, advances rapidly to maturity, becomes conical, and finally bursts and discharges b.l.o.o.d.y "matter."

Through the opening, and filling the cavity, may be seen a piece of sloughing cellular tissue which is called the _core_. In from four to fifteen days, it is all expelled and the sore rapidly heals. The causes are an impure condition of the blood, which generally arises from imperfect action of the liver or kidneys.

TREATMENT. Spirits of turpentine applied to a boll _in its earliest stage_ will almost always cause it to disappear; but when suppuration has commenced it should be favored by the application of poultices. Next purify the blood to prevent subsequent returns to other parts of the body. For this purpose take Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery. One or two "Pleasant Pellets" each day will aid in the cure.

CARBUNCLE. (ANTHRAX.)

These are more violent, larger, and more painful than boils, which they resemble. They may spring from several small pimples which extend deep into the tissues, and on the surface frequently several small vesicles appear and break. They may discharge, through one or several openings, a thin acrid, b.l.o.o.d.y, or dark-colored fluid. They most frequently appear upon the back of the neck, back, back part of the limbs, and under the arms. Their presence is evidence of a depressed condition of vitality.

These tumors vary in size from one-half an inch to six inches in diameter, and rapidly proceed to a gangrenous condition, a grayish slough being detached from the healthy tissue.

TREATMENT. Invigorate the system by every possible means. The bitter tonics, such as Golden Seal, Gentian, or Willow, together with quinine and iron should be used. Nutritious diet, pure air, etc., are necessary.

Purify the blood to remove the causes of the disease. For this purpose, give the "Golden Medical Discovery" in as large doses as can be borne without acting too freely on the bowels. Anodynes may be necessary to overcome the pain. Poultices are useful to encourage the separation of the dead from the living tissues. Antiseptic dressings are beneficial, of which carbolic acid is to be preferred; yeast, however, may be employed.

Sometimes powerful caustics or free incisions are productive of gratifying results, if followed by appropriate dressings, but these extreme measures should only be resorted to by the direction of a physician.

For a considerable time after the urgent symptoms have subsided, the "Golden Medical Discovery" should be used, to purify and enrich the blood, and the bitter tonics and iron may be alternated with it, or be used conjointly to good advantage.

SCROFULA.

It is estimated that about one fifth of the human family are afflicted with scrofula. A disease so prevalent and so destructive to life, should enlist universal attention and the best efforts of medical men in devising the most successful treatment for its cure. It varies in the intensity of its manifestation, from the slightest eruption upon the skin (scrofulous eczema), to that most fatal of maladies, pulmonary consumption.

THE SCROFULOUS DIATHESIS. The existence of a certain disposition or habit of body designated as the _scrofulous_ or _strumous diathesis_, is generally recognized by medical pract.i.tioners and writers as a const.i.tutional condition predisposing many children to the development of this disease. Enlargement of the head and abdomen, fair, soft and transparent or dark, sallow, greasy or wax-looking skin, and precocious intellect are supposed to indicate this diathesis.

The characteristic feature of this disease, in all the multifarious forms that it a.s.sumes, is the formation of tubercle, which, when the malady is fully developed, is an ever-present and distinguishing element.

_Tuberculous_ is therefore almost synonymous with _scrofulous_, and to facilitate an acquaintance with a large list of very prevalent maladies, we may generalize, and cla.s.sify them all under this generic term. As _tubercle_ is frequently spoken of in works treating on medicine and surgery, playing, as it does, a conspicuous part in an important list of diseases, the reader may very naturally be led to inquire:

WHAT IS TUBERCLE? As employed in pathology, the term is usually applied to a species of degeneration, or morbid development of a pale yellow color, having, in its crude condition, a consistence a.n.a.logous to that of pretty firm cheese. The physical properties of tubercle are not uniform, however. They vary with age and other circ.u.mstances. Some are hard and calcareous, while others are soft and pus-like. The color varies from a light yellow, or almost white, to a dark gray.

It is almost wholly composed of alb.u.men united with a small amount of earthy salts, as phosphate and carbonate of lime, with a trace of the soluble salts of soda.

The existence of tubercular deposits in the tissues of the body, which characterizes scrofula, when fully developed, must not, however, be regarded as the primary affection. Its formation is the result of disordered nutrition. The products of digestion are not fully elaborated, and pa.s.s into the blood imperfected, in which condition they are unable to fulfill their normal destiny--the repair of the bodily tissues. Imperfectly formed alb.u.minous matter oozes out from the blood, and infiltrates the tissues, but it has little tendency to take on cell-forms or undergo the vital transformation essential to becoming a part of the tissues. Instead of nutritive energy, which by a.s.similation produces perfect bodily textures, this function, in the scrofulous diathesis, is deranged by debility, and there is left in the tissues an imperfectly organized particle, incapable of undergoing a complete vital change, around which cl.u.s.ter other particles of tubercular matter, forming little grains, like millet seed, or growing, by new accretions of like particles, to ma.s.ses of more extensive size. As tubercle is but a semi-organized substance, of deficient vitality, it is very p.r.o.ne to disintegration and suppuration. Being foreign to the tissues in which it is embedded, like a thorn in the flesh, it excites a pa.s.sive form of inflammation, and from lack of inherent vital energy it is apt to decompose and cause the formation of pus. Hence, infiltration of the muscles, glands, or other soft parts with tuberculous matter, when inflammation is aroused by its presence, and by an exciting cause, give rise to abscesses, as in lumbar or psoas abscesses. When occurring in the joints, tubercles may give rise to chronic suppurative inflammation, as in white swellings and hip-joint disease. Various skin diseases are regarded as local expressions of, or as being materially modified by, the scrofulous diathesis, as eczema, impetigo, and lupus. The disease popularly known as "_fever-sore_" is another form of scrofulous manifestation, affecting the shafts of the bones, and causing disorganization and decay of their structure. Discharges from the ear, bronchitis, chronic inflammation of the intestinal mucous membrane, and chronic diarrhea are frequently due to scrofula, while pulmonary consumption is unanimously regarded as a purely scrofulous affectation.

Scrofula shows a strong disposition to manifest itself in the lymphatic glands, particularly in the superficial ones of the neck. The most distinguishing feature of this form of the disease is the appearance of little kernels or tumors about the neck. These often remain about the same size, neither increasing nor diminishing, until finally, without having caused much inconvenience, they disappear. After a time these glands may again enlarge, with more or less pain accompanying the process. As the disease progresses, the pain increases, and the parts become hot and swollen. At length the "matter" which has been forming beneath, finds its way to the surface and is discharged in the form of thin pus, frequently containing little particles or flakes of tubercular matter. During the inflammatory process there may be more or less febrile movement, paleness of the surface, languor, impaired appet.i.te, night sweats, and general feebleness of the system. The resulting open ulcers show little disposition to heal.

SYMPTOMS. There is a train of symptoms characteristic of all scrofulous disease. The appet.i.te may be altogether lost or feeble, or in extreme cases, voracious. In some instances there is an unusual disposition to eat fatty substances. The general derangement of the alimentary functions is indicated by a red, glazed or furrowed appearance of the tongue, flatulent condition of the stomach, and bloated state of the bowels, followed by diarrhea or manifesting obstinate constipation.

Thirst and frequent acid eructations accompany the imperfect digestion.

The foul breath, early decay of the teeth, the slimy, glairy stools, having the appearance of the white of eggs, and an intolerable fetor, all are indicative of the scrofulous tendencies of the system.

CAUSES. Scrofula may be attributed to various causes. Observation has shown that ill-a.s.sorted marriages are a prolific source of scrofula.

Both parents may be not only healthy and free from hereditary taints, but robust, well-formed physically, perfectly developed, and yet not one of their children be free from this dire disease. It may present itself in the form of hip disease, white swelling, "fever-sore" suppurating glands, curvature of the spine, rickets, ulcers, pulmonary consumption, or some skin disease, in every case showing the original perversion of the const.i.tution and functions. Scrofula is hereditary when the disease, or the diathesis which predisposes to its development, is transmitted from one or both parents who are affected by it, or who are deficient in const.i.tutional energy, showing feeble nutrition, lack of circulatory force, and a diminished vitality. All these conditions indicate that a few exposures and severe colds are often sufficient to produce a train of symptoms, which terminate in pulmonary or other strumous affections.

Whatever deranges the function of nutrition is favorable to the development of scrofula, therefore, irregularities and various excesses tend to inaugurate it. Depletion of the blood by drastic and poisonous medicines, such as antimony and mercurials, hemorrhages and blood-letting, syphilis, excessive mental or physical labor, as well as a too early use and abuse of the s.e.xual organs, all tend to waste the blood, reduce the tone of the system, and develop scrofula.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 1.

A Scrofulous Tumor]