Manual of diseases of the skin / from the French of Cazenave and Schedel ; with notes and additions by Thomas H. Burgess.

Date:
1842
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Manual of diseases of the skin / from the French of Cazenave and Schedel ; with notes and additions by Thomas H. Burgess. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

    32/340 (page 18)
    Before speaking of constitutional treatment we may ask, is it always necessary to have recourse to general remedies ? May we not obtain a cure by local means alone ? In some rare cases, where the cutaneous disease is slight and limited in extent, local means may suffice ; but, generally speak- ing, a constitutional treatment is necessary, for cutaneous diseases are almost always connected with some derangement of the general health, against which local remedies are powerless. The constitutional means employed in the treatment of diseases of the skin are extremely various. They comprise blood-letting, purgatives, alkalis, acids, antimonials, preparations of sulphur, sudorifics, and, finally, the tincture of cantharides and preparations of arsenic or mercury, which evidently act in a direct manner on the skin. General blood-letting is required, not only in various acute dis- eases of the skin, but in many others, where at first sight excitants might appear to be requisite. Purgatives are frequently employed in the treatment of cutane- ous diseases. When the alimentary canal is in a healthy state they are very beneficial, in effecting a slow and long-continued derivation; hence we should generally employ them in small doses, and suspend their use from time to time. The remedies in common use are calomel, the soluble sulphates of magnesia and potass, jalap, aloes, gamboge, cream of tartar, &c. Alkalis and acids, when properly diluted, are very useful in allaying itching; they also act directly on the skin. Hydrochloric acid is the one most commonly employed. Antimonials were much in vogue amongst the earlier practi- tioners, who placed far greater reliance on them than they deserve. Preparations of sulphur are by many regarded as specific in dis- eases of the skin. They are, in truth, highly efficacious, but we must confess that they sometimes fail, and occasionally aggravate the disease. But their use, whether locally or internally, requires more experience and tact than is generally supposed, and it is a great mistake to employ them indiscriminately, as too many practi- tioners do. Sulphureous waters are either natural or artificial; they may be used in baths, douches, or in vapor. Sometimes they