The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1943-10-14

questions Of general interest
only, and then only through
his column.
promised to give some hints to the
amateur home dermatologists.
Since diagnosis should always
precede treatment, let me take a
bird'S-eye, rapid view Of the COM
mon skin diseases.
The common skin affections can
be roughly classified in the Ian
guage of the vernacular thus.
Something you ate, no
doubt"
y. What bit your"
3. "Never an athlete, but always
a foot.
(. Pale, callow and pimply-
started smoking too early
5. who knows what's good for
a fever blister?"
i. "Y' been picking up toads
again
Types Of Affections
These correspond to % food
allergy. hives, eczema IN infants
and drug eruptlons; 90 contact
dermatitis, with plants and chem
icals Cmany new ones IN war in
dustryl, and that fine old disease,
scabies. or the itch; (3l mfec-
tons Of the skin. the commonest
OF which by all odds IS riugworm,
or athletes foot; ca pus infec-
tons of the skin-acne, impetigo:
(Ol skin manifestations of some
internal disease, the Gommonest
being fever bIisters and shingles;
90 new growth OF the skim warts
being the most familiar, but. if
you are over fifty, have a scaly
skin, and find a place that bleeds
easily when rubbed, perhaps an
early cancer.
Now. as to remedies for these
difficulties. The amateur derma-
tologist needs a good soother and
a good germ killer. Nature will do
most OF the rest.
OF the soothers the most popular
are zinc oxide, and a similar chem
zeal, calamine, usually put up in a
watery suspension or lotion. But
just protecting the skin from the
air with an ointment is often
enough.
Camphor has been called the
morphine Of the skin. Carbolic
acid, or phenol, is also a skin an
esthetic; it should be used by the
amateur in very diluted form. The
two together, camphor and phenol,
make a true and tried remedy.
Soap and water are almost al
ways irritating to the infamed
skin or irritated skin. The winter
itch of old people, with dry, scaly
skin. can usually be promptly
cured by telling them to stop bath
ing for a week
The drugs which kill off germs,
fungi, parasites in OF on the skin,
and which yet do not injure the
skin itself are mercury, sulphur,
salicyhc acid resorcin and iodine.
Ammoniated mercury saive is used
IN pus infections of the skin, such
as impetigo Ringworm is usually
treated in the mild stages with
salicylic acid in the form of Whit
fields ointment. Scabies, or the
itch yields best to sulphur. Iodine,
of course. is the good preventive of
infection on cuts, etc.
Diet, X-ray. light therapy and
vaccines are all part of the pro-
fessional dermatologist's equip
ment for skin treatment. Perhaps
the best lesson for the amateur is
that If his method of treatment
does not show results within 48
hours, ne had better give the pro-
fesslOnal chance.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
3. V: Does a woman with an
overactive thyroid have a chance
TO become a mother?
Answer: Yes. She should be un-
der more careful medical trea
ment than usual, but there are
lots Of successful cases.
T. Y: Recently a young man
was said to have tuberculosis of
the bone and would be a helpless
cripple for life. All the symp-
toms show anything but tubercu-
losis of the bone. Is there any
cure for the disease? Does a per-
son having it become paralyzed?
Can a paralysis be caused by any
thing, by airplane diving where a
person Is under a great strain?
Answer: In the first place, what
bone is supposed to have tubercu-
losis7 ! presume from the tone Of
your questions that il affects the
spine where the process may get
into the nerves or spinal cord and
cause paralysis. Cure is possible
in early cases. The symptoms Of
the early cases are pain, holding
the back in a rigid way, disinclina-
ton 10 stoop over and pick things
of the floor, fever and pallor. |
know Of no instances where paral-
ysis resulted from airplane diving
If the pilot was healthy to begin
with