The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-04-17

eNtud bhiN bN uEt ASAI n1lNs was
pretty sure that it was a contact
affair. but neither she nor | could
figure out exactly what she con-
tacted with her left hand which
she would not also touch with her
right hand.
| finally asked her TO keep a
diary of exactly everything she
did, minute by minute. through
every day. In a week she came
back and announced that we had
both been fools-which was a
pretty fair statement. She found
that when she watered her prim-
roses, she held the watering can
in her right hand and lifted the
leaves of the plants and flowers
so that water would get down into
the pots with the other.
1t was the left hand and the left
hand only, that was exposed.
Mistaken for Ringworm
Most of these cases Of dermati-
It's on the hands Of housewives are
due to some sort Of contact with
some object that they have to ham
die in housekeeping. The eruption
is usually watery pimples on the
back of the fingers and the hands.
For some reason or other it tends
to improve in warm weather and
is better OF worse according to the
degree and frequency Of exposure
to irritating substances. Many Of
these cases are called ringworm
and are unsatisfactory treated
as such.
1t may be rug with some kind
of dust in it, or something used in
cooking to which the housewife is
sensitive. Most Of the cases, how
ever, are due to some kind of soap
or the over use Of soaps. Most peo-
pie in the latter decades Of life
wash their hands too often with
soap anyway, and this causes dry
ing and Debating Of the skin which
leads to eczema and the invasion
Of bacteria into the skin. Medi-
Gated soaps may contain some sub
stances which will produce this
representative reaction.
The Patch Test
Soaps are by definition metallic
salts of high fatty acid content,
but for practical purposes sodium,
potassium or ammonium salts are
also used for cleansing purposes.
Most soaps on the market also
contain rosiR and such things as
sodium silicate in high quantities.
Cooks, domestic workers, house
wives, hospital orderlies, hair
dressers, dish washers, bar tend
ers and surgeons are all subject TO
these eczematous eruptions. Agood
deal of the fault is unnecessary re-
washing Of the hands and good
deal Of it is due to lack of sufficient
rinsing of soap from the hands.
The way the dermatologist
makes a diagnosis is by what is
known as the patch skin test. He
takes the object that the skin
comes in contact with, puts some
on the skin, and covers that patch
Of skin up with an adhesive plaster
and watches to see whether an
eruption takes place or not
The treatment, once the diagno-
sis has been made, is obvious and
in most cases very simple. One Of
the great features in treatment is
the use Of rubber gloves. For most
Of the people employed as we have
described, rubber gloves are the
solution to the condition.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
J. H.: Does a vegetable or any
food in a glass container lose vita
Minis by being exposed to light?
/ strain the orange juice / serve.
Is it necessary to use it without
straining it in order to get all the
vitamins?
Answer: Light and heat both
have a tendency to destroy the
vitamins in fresh foods. So does
simply standing at rest. Nature
protected the orange with a skin
which shuts out light and keeps
the temperature even, and it would
be well to take Nature at its word
and use the fruit while it is fresh.
There is a great deal Of waste in
pouring of water from vegetables
and preserved fruits. However,
orange juice in tin container re-
tains its vitamins very well. There
is not enough loss to make very
much difference.