The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1877-08-23
The Human Feet.

A pretty foot, says Goethe, is the one
element Of beauty which defes the as
saults of age. If properly cared for, it
remains as perfect at seventy as it was at
seventeen.
To preserve the feet in thoroughly
healthy and comfortable state the object
Of attention should be thorough
cleanliness. For this purpose they should
be frequently soaked in warm or tepid
water, good yellow soap being freely
used to remove the dirt and perspiration
which accumulate about them. This
should be done, if possible, every day in
summer, every other day in spring and
autumn and twice day in winter. The
appropriate time for the operation is at
night, before retiring to rest. About once
fortnight the nails Of the toes should
be inspected, when each of them that re-
quires it should be pared with sharp
penknlfe to prevent them becoming in
conveniently long or growing into the
flesh. This proper length is that of the
toes, and the shape of their extremities
that of the natural curve of the part. If
they are allowed to grow beyond the end
of the toes they are liable to be forced
back and distorted by the pressure of the
boot or shoe and to grow into the flesh,
while if they are shorter or much shorter
than the toes the extremities of the latter
lose their natural support.
It is highly necessary to the preserva-
ton of health to keep the feet dry, and
In oho
changes of temperature. Persons who
are exposed to the wet or cold should
therefore regard sound and good boots
and shoes as of the first importance. In
a hygienic point of view wet back
should be less stunned than wet or cold
feet. We may trace one half Of the con-
sumptions of this country to cold sudden
ly applied to the feet, by which the SEN
sible exhalation is checked; and it is not
sufficiently impressed upon the mind that
| when once. the regular perspiration from
the feet is checked it is matter of the
utmost difficulty to restore it.
Tender feet generally arise from the neg
lect Of cleanliness, the use of thin cot
ton stockings, and boots and shoes that
are either too tight or stiff. The best
treatment Of tender feet is soaking them
| nightly in tepid water, to which hand
full Of bran may be added. When the
! tenderness is extreme and persistent, a
little powdered borax or sal-ammoniac
should be added to the water. In all
! cases WOODEN or worsted stockings, and
boots of French kid, or some equally soft
kind of leather, should be worn.
Corns-" claw are horny indurations
of the skin, with a central nucleus very
sensitive at the base, and occur on the ex-
posed portions of the JOINTS of the toes.
The common cause of them. is continued
pressure or friction on the projections of
the bones from tight, stiff, or ill-ftting
boots or shoes. The curative treatment
OF corns is! very simple, though often
somewhat troublesome and tedious.
After soaking them for some minutes in
warm water, to soften them, they should
be pared with a sharp pen-knife as close
as possible, without causing them pain or
making them bleed. The pared surface
of the corn, and particularly its central
and upper portion,may then be touched
over with any substance capable of de-
stroying the vitality Of the indurated
cuticle, or at least the part Of it next the
surface and thus causing it in a few DAYS
to separate:' For this purpose caustics or
corrosives are employed. Of these the
most convenient, and the one most in fav-
or, is fused nitrate of silver or luna caus-
tic. The application should be repeated
every third or fourth day, until cure be
effected; soft, loose shoes being, Us far as
possible, worn during the whole time.
Another method of extirpating corns is
the application of small blister. This
will frequently raise them, with the skin,
out Of their beds, and permit Of their