STERILIZATION AND DISINFECTION 123 



with the above solution. In desquamative diseases it 

 seems best to have the entire body anointed with cos- 

 molin once daily, the unguent being well rubbed in, in 

 order to prevent the particles of epidermis being distrib- 

 uted through the atmosphere. Carbolated cosmolin may 

 be better than the plain, not because of the very slight 

 antiseptic value it possesses, but because it helps to allay 

 the itching which may be part of the desquamative 

 process. 



After the patient is about the room again, common 

 sense will prevent the admission of strangers until all 

 the disinfective measures have been adopted, and after 

 this, touching, and especially kissing him, should be 

 omitted for some time. 



The dead who die of infectious diseases should be 

 washed in a strong disinfectant solution, and should be 

 given a private funeral in which the body, if exposed, 

 should not be touched. In my judgment, the body 

 is best disposed of by cremation. 



It seems, however, to be an error to suppose that a 

 dead body can remain for an indefinite period a source of 

 infection. Bsmarch l has made a series of laboratory ex- 

 periments to determine what the fate of pathogenic bac- 

 teria in the dead body really is. From his results it seems 

 clear that in septicemia, cholera, anthrax, malignant 

 edema, tuberculosis, tetanus, and typhoid the pathogenic 

 bacteria all die sooner or later, generally more rapidly in 

 conditions of decomposition than in good preservation of 

 the tissues. Lack of oxygen may be a cause of their 

 disappearance. 



1 Zeitschrift fur Hygiene, 1893. 



