The modern treatment of eczema / by Henry G. Piffard.

Date:
1886
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The modern treatment of eczema / by Henry G. Piffard. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

    61/66 (page 53)
    made to reduce the infiltration by strong alkaline ap- plications. The irritation produced by applications of liq. potassse is greatly mitigated by diachylon oint- ment or zinc cerate. One of the most effective appli- cations to the fissures, and by no means the most painful, is the fine point of a PaqueTn cautery, at a white heat. Eczema of the mammae and nipples is a very fre- quent accompaniment of scabies in the female, and when met with, the latter disease should be suspected and carefully sought for. As the eczema is due to the irritation of the parasite, the insects must first be destroyed. I know of nothing more effective for this purpose than the alkaline sulphur ointment, to which iodide of potassium has been added in the proportion of a drachm to the ounce, afterwards zinc cerate. The so-called “ Paget’s disease of the nipple ” so closely resembles an eczema of the part, that an accu- rate diagnosis is extremely essential. Eczema sur- rounding the nipple is readily curable, while Paget’s disease is rebellious to all simple measures of relief. It is removed only by vigorous cauterization or exci- sion. When left to run its course, it terminates in mammary cancer. Hence, the importance of its early recognition. In obese persons, an eczema may arise from the irritation produced by confinement of the cutaneous secretions by over-lapping folds of skin, as under pendulous breasts, and in the groin between the thigh