580 THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES 



greater quantity, and to other fluid food, especially to what his own fancy may in- 

 vite him, such as smooth gruel or panada, milk boiled with a little flour of wheat or 

 rice, thin chocolate and milk, any broth without fat or with a little jelly or rice or 

 barley in it, <kc. &c.' We then went in to our patient again, and that he might be 

 encouraged with hope and act his part with resolution, I repeated the directions 

 with an air of being confident of success. The plan was simple, and perfectly 

 understood. They left me. I heard nothing of the case till, I believe, between 

 two and three months after. His father came to me with a most joyful countenance, 

 and with kind expressions of gratitude told me that the plan had been pursued with 

 scrupulous exactness, and with astonishing success ; that his son had never vomited 

 since I had seen him ; that he was daily gaining flesh, and strength, and colour, and 

 spirits, and now grew very importunate to have more substantial food. I recom- 

 mended a change to be made by degrees. He recovered completely, and many years- 

 ago he was a healthy and very strong young man." 



WARTS. 



Warts are closely allied to corns. They occur most frequently on the hands or 

 fingers of young people. They may be met with either singly or in large numbers. 

 They are occasionally hereditary, and in these cases they not uncommonly correspond 

 in number and position with those existing in one of the parents. In the majority 

 of cases, however, warts exhibit a considerable degree of capriciousness in their 

 appearance, period of duration, and disappearance. From their frequent occurrence 

 on the hands of those often engaged in the examination of dead bodies, it would 

 seem probable that the poison of decomposing animal matter is, under certain 

 circumstances, capable of favouring their growth. 



It is a common belief that the blood from a wart is capable of producing other 

 warts on people with whose skin it may happen to come in contact ; but the evidence 

 on this point is, to say the least, inconclusive. It is even doubtful whether the 

 ordinary warts which occur on the hands can be inoculated. 



The arsenic treatment, to which we referred when speaking of corns, is well 

 adapted for warts. The top of the wart should either be sliced off with a sharp 

 knife, cut off with a pair of scissors, or destroyed with a drop of some caustic, such 

 as nitric acid. It is then to be painted with the arsenic solution two or three times 

 a day. In a short time it undergoes a change, and appears to break up into a. 

 number of pieces. It may then be removed or turned out without the slightest 

 pain or difficulty. 



There are several other means of getting rid of warts. Their vitality is low, 

 and they are usually readily destroyed by the application of a caustic or astringent. 

 The strong acetic acid known as the "glacial" acetic acid is often used for this pur- 

 pose. It should be applied with a glass rod until the wart is pretty well sodden 

 with the acid. It may have to be applied more than once, and care should be 

 taken to prevent it from coming in contact with the surrounding skin, or it may 

 cause a blister. Small warts occurring in numbers may usually be got rid of cer- 

 tainly and painlessly by keeping them constantly moist with a lotion made by adding 



