426 
Combating Lousiness 
body 1 . There are objections to shaving the pubis and especially the 
axillae, particularly in soldiers on the march, because of the tickling and 
irritation produced by the growing hair, moreover, in some circumstances, 
the use of insecticides is preferable, especially in the case of wounded 
men. The hair removed by shaving should be carefully collected on paper 
and burnt. 
Failing the foregoing means of disposing of the parasites, the sugges¬ 
tion contained in the references made elsewhere to Michelangelo (p. 417) 
and to Leeuwenhoek (p. 105) indicates that hard rubbing of the skin either 
with a rough towel or with the hand must necessarily serve to displace 
many of the parasites, and the procedure would certainly mitigate the 
evil in cases of generalized infestation with either species of louse. 
3. When the clothing is infested. 
Brushing, beating and hand-picking of infested garments, when well 
carried out, greatly reduces lousiness, and if done thoroughly, say once 
a week, it would perhaps be sufficiently effective to render more elaborate 
measures unnecessary for soldiers in the field. The parts of the clothing 
to be examined have already been referred to (see p. 423). Teske (1915, 
p. 346) reports that good results have often followed the simple beating 
of clothes in the German army, whilst Legendre (1915, p. 83) states from 
his experience with French troops that periodic brushing for 15 minutes, 
using a hard brush, has given satisfaction. Trappe (1915, p. 1266) re¬ 
lates that he cleansed his battalion in a few days by the process of hand¬ 
picking; he prefers it to the use of steam or chemicals which he regards 
as mere palliatives; his men examined their own clothing, scraping off 
the nits with the finger nail or knife. The men in the trenches spent 
about half an hour a day in inspecting their clothes under supervision, 
those having good eyes helping others that had not. The method is 
naturally difficult to apply in winter. 
It is impossible to deal efficiently with cardigans and some forms of 
underclothing by the foregoing method. In such cases the articles will 
have to be treated by heat or chemical agents. 
1 I have stated elsewhere (p. 92) that corporis, contrary to accepted opinion, does lay nits 
on man’s body hair. This statement has received further confirmation, for Darier (ii. 1918, 
p. 223) cites Bulliard (Ann. de Dermatol, vn. 1917) and Lemon and Barber, as recording 
the frequent occurrence of corporis nits on the pubic and axillary hair, where, as I have 
also shown, capitis may likewise be present. 
