SKIN TROUBLES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 May 1938, Page 4

SKIN TROUBLES

SOME MINOR AFFLICTIONS. CAUSE OF -'BLACKHEADS. The bacillus of seborrhoea is responsible for many minor afflictions of the skin and hair. Pimples, blackheads, dandruf, and baldness are some of the forms which this takes. Blackheads are caused by obstruction by inflammation of the ducts of the sebaceous glands. These glands are present in ' the skin, and have the functions of secreting a natural oil which keeps the skin supple. When these ducts become inflamed, the grease is retained in them, the surface becomes blackened with dust, and the result is what is known as blackheads.

Blackheads occur at any age, but are most common in the late ’teens and early twenties. They appear for the most part on the face, but are also seen on the chest and back. Treatment consists of removal of the blackhead and astringent lotion to tighten up the skin. An instrument known as a comedone abstractor can be used. This squeezes out the individual blackhead; squeezing by the nails or removal by an old-fashioned watch-key can be dangerous. A few only are removed at a sitting, and the treatment must be persisted with over a long period. A paste composed of one part of sulphur, one part of kaolin, and four parts of glycerine can be rubbed on nightly. UNSIGHTLY PIMPLES. Pimples are caused by an infection of the sebaceous glands, and sometimes at the hair roots. A pus-forming germ is in action, as well as the bacillus of seborrhoea. These pimples occur at the same age as blackheads. They are unsightly, especially is in the case of fair girls, and cause mental distress and a feeling of inferiority. Treatment is difficult, but they will almost invariably get well spontaneously in a few years. The same sulphur paste described above for blackheads is useful. In many cases, dramatic cures follow the use of vaccines. These vaccines are sometimes made to order from the gernjs of the individual patient, but sometimes stock vaccines made in a commercial laboratory succeed. A course of vaccine treatment lasts several weeks, and may need to be repeated within a month or two. Seborrhoeic ezcema is very common. It takes the form of a rash on the forehead, face and sometimes the chest and legs. It nearly always accompanies dandruff. The treatment of seborrhoeic eczema consists in the use of either sulphur ointment or of an ointment made from ten grains of salicylic acid, half an ounce of vaseline, and half an ounce of lanoline. Either of these ointments must be used nightly, and the treatment is usually moderately prolonged. At the same time, appropriate treatment must be used for the scalp condition.