64 LICE AND THEIR MENACE TO MAN 



couple of feet and until his health begins to 

 suffer, and yet lice fed upon him thrive. It may 

 be considered useless. 



Mercury in the form of various ointments has 

 been much used, especially the blue mercurial 

 ointment for crab-lice. It is certainly efficacious, 

 but is rather dangerous to use owing to its absorp- 

 tion by the skin. The naphthalene ointment 

 mentioned above will be found equally effective 

 and perfectly safe. 



General Remarks on Disinfestation. The great 

 principle in all disinfestation is to be thorough. 

 All articles of clothing and bedding which have 

 come in contact with a lousy person should be 

 treated with either heat or solution as described 

 above. The reinfestation of these should be 

 avoided, and care should be taken that they are 

 not laid after cleansing in the spot where they 

 were before the treatment. While these are being 

 treated the body should receive careful attention 

 at the same time. It should be remembered 

 that though a hot bath may alleviate lousiness 

 it is not a cure for it. If a person is liable through 

 his occupation to repeated infestation, as in the 

 case of the armies, it is advisable to remove the 

 body hair. The inconvenience resulting from 

 this has been exaggerated. In this process care 

 should be taken not to lacerate the skin as the 

 trench-fever virus may enter through the cuts. 

 This did indeed happen amongst a body of men 

 in the German army. 



