NEMATODE DERMATOSES 



2219 



line is carefully examined with a lens the orifice of entry may be 

 found as well as a minute vesicle at the farther end, but this may 

 be absent. Just beyond the end of the burrow a small body of 

 greyish glittering appearance may be seen in the depth of the epi- 

 dermis if examined by means of a lens. This body is the mite. 



In addition to these primary lesions secondary signs may be visible 

 in the form of scratches, papules, pustules, and even eczematous 

 patches. 



The primary sites are between the fingers^ the wrists, the ulnar 

 side of the hands, -the elbows, the front of the armpits, the nipples, 

 the umbilicus, the penis, the gluteal regions, and between the toes. 



In the tropics in cleanly people it is often confined to the scrotum. 



Diagnosis. — The characteristic signs arc the burrows and the 

 distribution of the eruption, while the basis of the diagnosis is the 

 discovery of the mite. 



Treatment. — Order the patient to take a hot bath and to scrub 

 himself all over with soap and water, and then to rub all over the 

 body sulphur ointment of the British Pharmacopoeia from the 

 margin of the hairy scalp to the soles of the feet. Next day only 

 the face is washed, and that night more ointment is rubbed in, and 

 the same treatment is applied another night. Then on the fourth 

 a hot bath is taken and all the clothing and bed linen changed, 

 the old underclothing and bed linen being disinfected by being placed 

 in boiling water. 



This usually cures the eruption, but a recurrence may occur in 

 about a week if any ova have survived, and may require a repetition 

 of the treatment. 



The sulphur ointment may cause a slight dermatitis with itching, 

 which may be mistaken for a recurrence of the affection. In order 

 to cover the odour cf the sulphur a few drops of oil of lavender may 

 be added. 



Prophylaxis. — Every person suffering from itch should be care- 

 f ally and promptly treated in order to avoid epidemics. 



The horse, sheep, dog, cat, wolf, fox, pig, poultry, and many other animals, 

 suffer from scabietic conditions due to mites more or less closely allied to the 

 Sarcopfes scabiei of man. These mites may occasionally be transferred to 

 man, and induce a dermatitis which clinically may resemble scabies, though 

 as a rule much less severe. 



IV. NEMATODE DERMATOSES. 



Several species of the Nematode cause dermatoses- — e.g., Rhah- 

 ditis niellyi Blanchard, 1885 (p. 627) , Strongyloides stercoraUs Bavay, 

 1876 (p. 628), Filaria bancrofti Cobbold, 1877 (p. 633), Onchocerca 

 volvulus Leuckart, 1893 (p. 649), Loa loa Guyot, 1778 (p. 645), 

 Agamofilaria georgiana Stiles, 1906 (p. 642), Ancylostoma duodenale 

 Dubini, 1843 (p. 666), and Necator americanus Stiles, 1902 (p. 673). 



The most important of these is the dermatitis caused by the two 

 last-named worms. This dermatosis is described under the heading 

 Ankylostomiasis on p. 1764. 



