The sun., 1886-08-26
A TALK WITH A cHIRoPoDIsT.
Tight Shoes Given as a Cause for
Corns, Bunions, and How
They Are Treated.

Tight Shoes Given as a Cause Tor
Corns, Bunions, and How
They Are Treated.
Chiropodists have of late years be-
come necessary to residents of ties,
says a writer in The Brooklyn Eagle.
1t is but recently that the art has been
taught in the medical colleges. Unlike
dentistry the student is not obliged to
pass an examination in anatomy. bnt
can simply bring his mind exclusively
to bear on learning to treat and care
for the feet. Formerly Brooklynites
were compelled to patI onize New York
chiropodists or else attend to their own
pedal extremities. Within few past
years. however, a dozen or more indi-
viduals who made speciality of wrest-
ling with hard-shelled corns, or allevi-
ating the sufferings of those who have
big or little bunions. have signified
their readiness to attend to the feet of
suffering residents. 1 called recently
at the Office of local chiropodist and
found him busily engaged in compound
ing mixture which he guarantees to
cure all manner of diseases of the feet
He said:
Zone of the chief causes of corns,
bunions, ETC., is tight shoes. The ma
jority of my customers are ladies.
hard. The soft corn is formed by the
acid perspiration Of the feet, and first
appears in the shape of white blister.
whose edges easily peel off. Ladies
who wear shoes large enough for them
seldom, if ever suffer with corns.
Stumpy or short shoes cause corns to
form easily, l have frequently known
cases where a soft corn would affect
the whole foot and ankle. I'have many
patients who have corns which have
festered into the bone. Bunions are
often mistaken for hard corns. A bum
ion forms, usually. on the side of the
foot or betwee the toes. A bunion is
nothing more or less than strained
joint caused by short or narrow
shoe. French heeled boots and shoes
have been the cause of untold misery
to ladies, and have noticed, since the
common-sense shoe has become fash
ionable, the wearers OF them have had
fewer corns. Narrow dancing pumps
are also very injurious to the feet. OPP
erations on fibrous and nerve corns are
extremely difficult
AT what age does a corn begin to
crew." -
II have kHHaYT; children whose moth
ers would insist lippeen having them
wear tight shoes to have corns at the
age of 3 years. Many children have
ingrowing nails and are suffering from
corns."
Talking about manicures, nv infor-
mant said: /
Manicure is new innovation and is
now practiced by all chiropodists. The
most expert manicures are young girls,
who have been thoroughly drilled in
the business. 1t is now the custom to
engage young women to do this work,
and the pairing and beautifying of nails
is usually performed amid elegant sur
roundings. In New York many fash
ionable young men have their nails
polished twice a week.
The doctor with whom I talked ex-
planned the methods used in treating
bunions, which may be Of service to
Brooklynites who perform their own
ch;ropothy. First, the bunion is soft
ened with a camePs hair brush to
destroy soreness, and then the hard
callous is removed by means of dou-
ble-edged knife. At this point in the
operation the fibers of the bunion are
killed and a large ring of lamb wool
applied. From appearances it would
denote that the covering Of lambs
wool would make it impossible to get
on the shoe. The latter. however.
easily slips on and the patient walks
with comparative freedom.
Double-edged knives and scissors,
large and small are used by
chiropodists in their work.
Il have extracted twenty-five corns
from both feet of one lady," continued
my informant. Large shoes have the
same effect as small ones. One to be
perfectly free from corns must wear q
fitting shoe, which must be neither
too large nor too small. Ingrowing
nails are difficult to treat. and are al
ways accompanied by fungus growth
or proud flesh. Large or big toes
often have ingrowing nails. Disease
of the sweat-glands or perspiring feet,
which emit an acid smell. can be cured,
but the treatment must be both internal
and local. The disease known as
sweat-glands originates in disordcred
system, or in weak and diseased func-
tions. In the disease mentioned great
care should be used in the style of the
hose worn. Only the cheap lines of
hosiery have seams ON the sides. These
should be avoided and only socks worn
which have seams in the bottom" !: