The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-04-22
BEAUTY BUT SKIN DEEP.


the Skin and Scalp.
~ n. =. JossELYN, n. D., OF NEW YORK.
Apart from the suffering caused by skin
those to whom delicate and pearly complex
ION Is the dearest wish OF their lives ts para
mount to all others. No lady afflicted with
that, to obtain fair skin and luxuriant
tresses. she would gladly exchange the disfg-
urations that now mar her otherwise hand
some face, hands, or hair, for other diseases
Of greater severity-even danger-cOuld their
existence be concealed from the public eye.
Many an estimable lady's life has been embit-
that every one sees and comments upon her
looks. She avoids society and public places,
and endeayors to hide her misery in seclusion:
Here the struggle to improve her appearance
dangerous r to be be used. Arsenic is deyoared in
sSss he aeeS ra
in their loosened sockets, and the system
groans beneath the load Of poisons it is
If Il such be the feelings Of one afflicted with
slight skin blemishes, what must be the con-
dition of those suffering from salt rheum, tet-
is ehen prSr9o pnd scaId heads Nc pen csn
fully describe the fortunes they endure.
Dealh in many cases might be considered
and itching nearly impel the sufferer to do
violence to himself in order to end his suffer
ings. I have seen patients tear their flesh
streams. Others have told me that they could
cut the flesh from their limbs, SO great was
the agony they endured.
With view to impart some useful informa.
ton on the construction and preservation Of
the skin, scalp, and hair, and the proper treat
ment of them when diseased, I have here CON
densed to siIps popular form such information as
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SKIN.
The skin is composed of two layers, which
ton Of blister. The thin portion which is
raised up by the blister is called the scarf skin,
the cuticle, or the epidermis; that which re-
tive skin, the cults, the derma, or the true
skin. Each has separate duties to perform.
The scarf skin is horny and insensible and
tive skin under it. Were the scarf skin taken
of, we could not bear to have anything touch
us. The derma or true skin, and its glands,
oil tubes, etc., are the seat OF all cutaneous
THE OIL AND SWEAT GLANDS.
That the skin may be pliable and healthy it
this the Creator has wisely provided by placing
in the true skin small glands and tubes, whose
Office it is to prepare and pour out upon the
parts Of the body they do not exist, but are
abundant on the face, nose, ears, head, eye
lids, etc. They produce the wax of the ears,
the hair, and furnish it with natures own hair
oil or pOmade. When the skin is healthy, these
little vessels are always at work, and constant
~ responding 10 the O01dnuS maze upon
them: Consequently no person should be
afraid to wash thoroughly every day with soap
and water, lest, as the Boston Medical Jour
Ing Ing the oil removed from it. " ' " nav
FREQUENT WASHINGS WITH PURE SOAP
free from carStic alkalies) and lukewarm
water, followed by brisk rubbing with coarse
towel, will do more to preserve the healthy ac-
ton of the oil glands and tubes, upon which
depends a clear and wholesome complexion,
than all the cosmetics in the world. So inn
nOrtQnt nprfpof If "a
sweat and fat or oil glands in the preservation
Of the general health, as well as the special
to them will be rewarded by increased physical
health. They discharge upon the surface of
the body about two and One-half pounds of
publication Of the blood and fluids Of the body
Is SO great that, were they closed by an imper-
vious coating, like rubber or oiled silk, death
would soon enSue.
THE GREAT SKIN AND SCALP DISEASES.
But bad as are minor forms of skin diseases,
they sink into insignificance when compared
with the great skin and scalp diseases with
whole lives. That the reader may know more
about them, the principal affections are here
named, emitting such as are symptoms of con-
stitutional diseases. like measles, rash, etc.
The most important are salt rheum or eczema,
letter, rngworm, psoriasis, fmpetigo, leprosy,
!fchen prurigo, BARRIERS itch, Jackson's itch,
druf.
ton, in suffering, is
commonly called salt rheum. Wilson divides
it into twelve species and others into many
more; but it is sufficiently clear to the average
watery blister, about the size of a pinhead,
whenever seen. Prurigo, impetigo, and psori-
asis are but little behind salt rheum in the suf-
stinate affection, defying all remedies, de-
stroying the hair. and producing great misery
and suffering. The scalp, like the skin, is sub
eruptive and scaly diseases, which generally
destroy the hair follicles. and produce per-
manent badness.
OF diseases Of the skin or scalp has been for
centuries based upon the mistaken theory
that they are entirely due to some impurity Of
directed to the important part the sweat and
fat glands play in the propagation and main
| teDance OF disease.
| 1t is no unjust reflection upon the medical
profession to say that its efforts in the cure of
skin diseases have been failure. What with
mistaken theories, poisonous remedies, and
originating in ignorance snd superstition, salt
rheum, scald head, and psoriasis flourish and
increase upon systems shattered by the CO.
| piOus use, both internal and external, of mer-
curry, arsenic zinc, and lead.
For centuries it has been the popular notion
that diseases of the skin and scalp must be
Admitting that this is partly true, what has
been the method or what the remedies by which
1t was sought to be accomplished?
MERCURY AND ARSENIC.
Putting aside the senseless "sarsaparilla,"
"dock," and ''dandelon :" "blood purifiers"
and considering only those remedies that
hospitals and colleges, we find that mercury
and arsenic are the only medicinal agents Of
| to-day, as they were hundreds of years ago,
ing specific medical properties for the purifi-
cation of the blood, and hence the only RENE
dies adapted to the treatment of skin aud
| But little light is being thrown upon the
darkness that has surrounded the intellect of
the past. To few German and French ply.
sicians and specialists we owe what true
progress we are making ut the present time
in the cure of obstinate affections of the skin
and scalp. They teach and prove, a. that dis
eases of the skin and scalp are caused by de-
rangement of the secretOry and excretOry
tubes and vessels of the true skin; and C)
vaed and bv aF1
tanning the virus of scrofula, malaria, or con-
tagious disease, which are discharged from
through the sweat and fat glands. From these
facts they successfully maintain that skin
diseases cannot be cured solely by internal
sa soe By S ssts These
tons are not wholly caused by impurities Of
the blood and circulating fluids, nor are they
due entirely 70 diseased condition OF the
OF the true skin, but to peculiar and in
separable condition Of both. For if you treat
| the one to the neglect of the other, no prog
ress is made: but with attention to both at
the same time, and the use of such remedies
"a can here recommend, cure is possible in
nearly every case.
"WHAT WE WANT"
said distinguished authority on the skin,
"what we most earnestly desire in order to
cure obstinate skin and scalp affections, are
three great remedies, with as many specific
properties, namely:
:" I. An internal remedy possessing cathar-
tic, tonic, and Alternative properties, which will
enable it to expel through the natural purifiers
of the body, viz, the lungs, liver, kidneys,
bowels, and skin, the constitutional poison
which floats in the blood and circulating fluids
of the body.
80. An external, Interchangeable application
of jelly conscience that may arrest infiamma-
ton or irritation and destroy fungus or para
| site growths; and,
SO. An emollient and healing soap, free from
caustic alkalies and irritating properties, for
cleansing diseased surfaces, and partaking, in
a milder form, the medicinal properties Of the
external application.
with three such remedies as conceive It
possible to prepare, but which do not now
know t0exist, l will venture to assert that
ninety per centum Of the skin diseases in ex-
istence may BIO permanently cured"
THE USUAL REMEDIES FAILURES.