The Opelousas courier., 1886-11-13
A CORN DOCTOR.
A Talk About Corns and Bun.
ions With a Ghiropodist.

&r&
How the Painful Excrescences are Caused
and How They are Treated.
Chropodists have of late years become
necessary to residents of cities, says a
writer in the Brooklyn Eagle. 1t is but
recently that the art has been taught in
medical colleges. Unlike dentistry the
student is not obliged to pass an exami-
nation in anatomy, but can simply bring
his mind exclusively to bear on learning
to treat and care for the feet. Formerly
Brooklynites were compelled to patron
ize New York chiropodists or else at
tend to their " pedal extremitles.
Within a few years past, however, a
dozen or more individuals who made a
specially of wrestling with hard-shelled
corns, or elleviatlng the sufferings OF
those who have big or little bunions,
have signiied their readiness to attend
to the feet of suffering residents. / called
recently at the Office of a local chiropo-
dist and found him busily engaged in
cornpounding a mixture which he guar
antees to cure all manne. of diseases OF
the feet. He said:
zone of the chief causes of corns, bun
ions, etc, is tight shoes. The majority
of my customers are ladies. Corns come
in two varieties-soft and hard. The
soft corn is formed by the acid prespira-
ton of the feet, and first appears in the
shape of a 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. I 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. Bun
ions are often mistaken for hard corns.
A bunion forms, usually, on the side of
the foot or between the toes. A bunion
is nothing more or less than a strained
joint caused by a short or narrow shoe.
French-heeled boots and shoes have been
the cause of untold misery to ladies, and
Ihave noticed, since the common-sense
shoe has become fashionable, the wearers
of them have had fewer corns. Narrow
dancing-pumps are also very injurious to
the feet. Operations on fbrous and
nerve corns are extremely difficult"
SAT what age does a corn begin to
groww
81 have known children whose moth
ers would insist upon having them wear
tight shoes to have corns at the age of
three years. Many children have ingrow-
ing nails and are suffering from corns."
Talking about m~anicures, my inform
ant said:
"Manicure is a new innovation and is
now practiced by all chiropodists. The
most expert manicures are young girls,
who have been thoroughly drilled in the
business. Il is nov the custom to en-
gage young women to do this work, and
the pairing and identifying of nails is
usually performed amid elegant sur
roundings. In New York many fashion
able young men have their nails polished
twice a week"
The doctor with whom l talked ex-
planned the methods used in treating
bunions, which may be of service to
Brooklynites who perform their own
chiropothy. First, the bunion is soften
ed with a camels-hair brush to destroy
soreness, and then the hard callous is re-
moved by means of a double-edged
knife. At this point in the operation the
ibers of the bunion are killed and a large
ring Of lambs wool applied. From APP
pearances it would denote that the cover
ing of lambs wool would make it inn
possible 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.
II have extracted twenty-five eorns
from both feet of n lady," continued
my informant. Large shoes have the
same effect as small ones. One to be
perfectly free from corns must wear a
neat-ftting shoe, which must be neither
too large nor too small. Ingrowing nails
are difficult to treat, and are always ac-
companied by fungus growth or proud
flesh. Large or big toes often have in
growing nails. Disease of the sweat
glands or perspiring feet, which emit an
acid smell can be cured, but the treat
ment must be both internal and local.
The disease known as sweat-glands origi-
mates in a disordered system, or in weak
and diseased functions. 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 which have seams in the
bottom.
The Spanish National Dish.
N. Suzanne, chef to the Duke of Bed