48 ANIMAL PARASITES. 



the vesicles are deprived of their epidermis, the folds of the skin 

 and galleries of the mites are filled with sulphur, the cutaneous 

 inflammation here and in the vicinity, however, is but small, and 

 on the third day the vesicles, as well as the inflamed passages, are 

 dried up. Volz, however, only Allows his patients to bathe on 

 the fourth day, by which means the passages of the mites are 

 completely thrown off, and are then got rid of. The first rubbing 

 in only serves to cleanse the skin, but does not kill the mites ; 

 this is only effected by the alkaline sulphur ointment, in which 

 the mite becomes quite transparent within a quarter of an hour, 

 swells up, and dies. The crystalline sulphur destroys the passages, 

 the ointment causes them to be thrown off', by which means the 

 dead rnites with their eggs are got rid off; of the latter we do 

 not know whether or not they lose their germinative faculty with 

 the ointment. However, even Hardy did not employ his method 

 in those cases in which the itch is complicated with inflammatory 

 eruptions. In these cases Hardy and Gibert resort to the Tinct. 

 Tabaci and Staphisagr. diluted to one half, and belonging, ac- 

 cording to their views, to No. 2. 



The Belgian rapid cure, so-called by me, because it is intro- 

 duced into the Belgian army, consists in a similar process. The 

 patient is first rubbed for an hour with soft soap, then for another 

 hour and a half in the bath, and after the bath with 60 90 

 grammes of the cheap sulphide of calcium. The latter remedy 

 is also recommended by Piorgey. I place this method in this 

 position for the same reason as Hardy's. 



III. Methods combined from 1 and 2. Here belongs the 

 method of Hardy, just referred to, in part, and that described by 

 Schiuzinger in his ' Habilitationsschrift/ which is made use of at 

 the Surgical Hospital in Freiburg. If there are galleries in the 

 ordinary places, the patient or the nurse is instructed to rub these 

 places three times a day, for one or two days, with an ointment 

 of green soap, pounded chalk and water, without observing any 

 particular precautions with the sheet (Hebra) in lying down in 

 bed. The chalk tears open the passages, knots, and vesicles, but 

 the soap causes the passages to be thrown off by inflammation 

 and formation of exudation. On the third day follows a bath. 

 After this, the places where the mites lay are rubbed with 

 ^ 1 drachm of oil of anise, and 5J of alcohol, which produces a 

 fleeting pain for a few minutes. 



