BOILS. 145 



means easy to cure. It is stated that boils and carbuncles often come from eating 

 the flesh of animals who have died of the disease called pleuro-pneumonia. 



As a rule, boils display a particular affection for young people. They are fond 

 of children. They often come out during convalescence from fevers and other 

 exhausting diseases. They sometimes result from over-suckling. 



There are two forms of boils. They are so closely related, that if one had one's 

 choice it would be difficult to know which to prefer. The ordinary boil is lumpy, 

 definite in extent, and prominent on the surface, whilst the flat or blind boil is less 

 definite in its outline. The common boil usually begins as a little lump beneath the 

 skin. At first it is not very painful, but subsequently it makes up for any deficiency 

 on this score. As it increases in size it seems to irritate the surrounding tissue, 

 which presents an angry appearance. After a time the external swelling becomes 

 more pointedly conical, and acquires a bright^red blush on the surface. The pain is 

 usually of a piercing, throbbing character, sometimes varied, by way of a change, by 

 a distressing sensation of tension and weight at the part affected, the surface of 

 which becomes exquisitely sensitive to the slightest irritation. In from four to 

 eight days the boil bursts and lets out a little matter, disclosing a little opening 

 leading straight down to the greenish-yellow core beneath. A day or two later 

 this core comes away, leaving a large hole. The trouble is now nearly over. The 

 subsequent progress towards recovery is rapid. For a day or two longer a little thin 

 matter is discharged, and then the hole gradually fills up, leaving behind nothing 

 but a small, depressed, and slightly-discoloured spot. 



The flat or blind boil generally commences in a small inflamed pimple, sur- 

 rounded by a red and exquisitely tender ring, ill-defined in its margin. Th- pain is 

 from the first of a throbbing character, keeping time with the beating of the heart, 

 and is greatly increased by anything that quickens the circulation. The boil, when 

 it bursts, discharges a little matter, but the core is usually far smaller than in a 

 common boil. 



Boils, as a rule, give no notice of their coming ; yet not infrequently individuals 

 who have had much personal experience of boils can anticipate the appearance of each 

 fresh visitor by the occurrence of a certain feeling of general discomfort and chilliness, 

 while in others the eruption is preceded by a transient irritability and querulousness 

 of temper. 



What is the best remedy for boils 1 Sulphide of calcium, undoubtedly. A tenth 

 of a grain should be taken hourly, or every two or three hours, or Pr. 78 may be 

 employed. It lessens the inflammation, and reduces the area of the boil. Moreover, 

 it liquefies the core, so that it separates more speedily, and the troublesome little visitor 

 is induced to take its departure. When the skin is not yet broken, and the slowly 

 separating core not exposed, this medicine often converts the boil into a little abscess, 

 which soon bursts, and the whole thing is over. If the sulphide is taken sufficiently 

 early, the boil often dries up, the inflammation subsides, and a hard knot is left which 

 disappears in a few days without the formation of a core, and without any discharge. 

 The sulphide exerts a marked influence on the general health, removing the debility 

 and malaise so frequently associated with these eruptions. Not only will the 

 sulphide of calcium, taken in the manner we have indicated, cure existing boils, but 

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