The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-08-15
THE HUMAN FEET.
How to Preserve and Keep Them In Good
Conditions Corns and their Cure.

How to Preserve and Keep Them In Good
Condition.-Corns and their Cure.
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
as seventeen.
To preserve the feet in thoroughly
healthy and comfortable state the first
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 per-
spiration 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 requires it should be
pared with sharp penknife to prevent
them becoming inconveniently long or
growing into the flesh. Their 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
to shelter them from cold and sudden
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
hygienic point of view a 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 sud-
denly applied to the feet, by which the
sensible 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
neglect of cleanliness, the use of thin
cotton 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 a
handful of bran may be added. When
the tenderness is extreme and persistent,
little powdered bora1 of sal-ammoniac
should be added to the water. In all
cases woolen or worsted stockings, and
boots of French kid, or some equally
soft kind of leather, should be worn.
Corns g." claw are horny indura-
tions of the skin, with central nucleus
very sensitive at the base, and occur on
the exposed 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 cura-
tive treatment of corns is very simply,
though often somewhat troublesome and
tedious. After soaking them for some
minutes in warm water, to soften them,
they should be pared with sharp pen
knife as close as possible, without caus-
ing them pain or making them bleed.
The pared surface of the corn,
and particularly it's central and
upper portion, may then be touched
over with any substance capable OF
destroying the vitality of the indu-
rated cuticle, or at least the part OF
it next the surface and thus causing it in
few days to separate. For this pur-
pose caustics or corrosives are employed.
OF these the most convenient, and the
one most in favor, is fused nitrate OF
silver or luna caustic. The application
should be repeated every third or fourth
day, until cure be effected soft, loose
shoes being, as 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 complete re-
moval. The delicate exposed surface
must then be dressed with little simple
ointment, spread on lint, and this must
be retained in its place by slight band
age formed of strip Of calico.