SCABIES. 



513 



Scabies never gets well spontaneously, but is very amenable to 

 treatment ; hence it is an innocent disease. No educated physician 

 now believes in " metastasis of the itch " as a result of " incautious 

 suppression " of the malady. Even the homoeopaths in spite of the 

 anathemas hurled by Hahnemann against suppression of the " psora " 

 by local applications now prescribe green soap and sulphur, regard- 

 less of consequences. However, notwithstanding the ease with which 

 it is cured, the itch is an affection greatly feared by the so-called edu- 

 cated classes, by whom it is regarded as a plebeian and disgraceful dis- 

 ease. This prejudice is so great, that their horror over the discovery 

 that they have the itch is by no means diminished by the information 

 that it is more harmless and easier to cure than almost any other cu- 

 taneous disorder. 



TREATMENT. To cure the itch, it is only necessary to kill the in- 

 sects and their eggs, or to remove them from the skin. This done, 

 the eruption induced by the parasites, and by the scratching which 

 their presence provoked, soon subsides. There are many methods of 

 curing the itch with certainty ; of one, however, it is claimed, that it 

 affords the most rapid possible relief ; that it is less irksome to the 

 patient, and that it costs less, at all events in hospitals. The reme- 

 dies most commonly employed are green soap and sulphur. When 

 green soap alone is used, every suspected part of the skin must be 

 rubbed with it twice daily, until a decided eczematous dermatitis sets 

 in. With the exfoliation of the epidermis consequent upon this ecze- 

 ma, the itch-mites and their eggs are also got rid of, as the burrows 

 never extend down to the cutis. This cure is a certain one, but it re- 

 quires from six to eight days for its accomplishment. Meantime, the 

 patient must not wash himself nor change his clothing, and must re- 

 main in a room heated to a temperature of 75 to 80 Fahr. He must 

 not bathe until the sixth or eighth day, when the cure is complete. 

 This treatment is not adapted for private practice, being too irksome 

 and unpleasant. The object may be effected somewhat more quickly 

 by using a mixture of two parts of green soap to one of powdered sul- 

 phur, which is to be rubbed in as directed above. The English method 

 also consists in an application of green soap and sulphur, with certain 

 additions. The treatment is commenced by a warm bath, after which, 

 for two or three periods of twenty-four hours, the patient is to remain 

 packed in woollen blankets at a temperature of 90 or 96 Fahr. After 

 the first twelve hours, one-third of the ointment (consisting of sulphur 

 | j, white hellebore 3 ij, nitre gr. x, soft-soap | j, lard iij) is to be 

 rubbed into all suspected regions ; after the second twelve, a second 

 portion is to be applied ; and in twelve hours more the remaining 

 third. Twelve hours after the last inunction, the treatment terminates 



