G. H. F. Nuttall 
569 
disinfestors are insufficiently numerous or lacking, washing facilities are 
meagre or absent, and there are few opportunities for undressing, the 
difficulties of dealing with lousiness are very great, and all that can be 
accomplished, in the present state of our knowledge, is merely to mitigate 
the evil by palliative measures. 
Palliative Measures. 
These consist (a) in the mechanical removal of lice and nits from the 
person and clothing, (6) the application of dry or moist heat to clothing 
by some of the simpler methods herein described, and (c) the use of 
insecticides, one or all of these procedures being employed, as follows: 
fa) Hand-picking and combing of the head with a heated comb, 
cutting or shaving the hair of the head and body; frequently brushing, 
beating and hand-picking the. infested clothes, doing this in the open 
air, preferably on sunny days, and turning them inside out and paying 
special attention to the seams and folds whilst so treating them; if 
possible employ periodic dry storage of infested clothes (pp. 423-7). The 
interchange of articles of apparel, blankets, etc., and the overcrowding of 
individuals greatly favour the dissemination of lice. 
( b ) Infested clothing, when valueless, may be burnt. Singeing, sun¬ 
baking and ironing of infested effects may be practised; they may be 
wrapped around tins containing boiling brine, or baking ovens or 
substitutes for these may be employed (pp. 435-7). Any piece of heated 
iron or even hot stones from a camp fire, or holding the clothes very close 
to a hot fire will serve to kill and dislodge many lice. Underclothes 
especially may be treated by immersion for a moment in boiling water, 
or water that is near boiling-point; clothing can be passed athwart the 
steam jet issuing from the nozzle of a kettle, or exposed over vessels of 
boiling water whilst enclosed in boxes or barrels (pp. 454-459). 
(c) Insecticide solutions 1 may be used for the immersion, impreg¬ 
nation or spraying of infested clothes that are in use, or be applied to the 
body and head. Insecticides may be used as powders dusted in the 
clothing, or these, when removed, can be exposed to the action of 
insecticide vapours when enclosed in air-tight containers. 
Although called palliative, these measures, if combined and thoroughly 
carried out, may give excellent results provided that the anti-louse 
campaign is kept up continuously. If imperfectly carried out, the 
measures a*t least mitigate the evil. The use of insecticides as a whole, 
1 Specified on p. 575. 
