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Part 1

LITTLE BLUE BOOK NO. 1242 Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius

The Care of the Skin and Hair

And Other General Health Hints

Morris Fishbein, M. D.

Editor Journal American Medical Association and Hygeia, the Health Magazine.

HALDEMAN-JULIUS PUBLICATIONS GIRARD, KANSAS

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Skin Diseases and Their Cure 5

Cosmetics 7

Skin Disease Quackery 8

Magic of Plastic Surgery Replaces Scarring Knife 10

Button in Savage’s Skull First Plastic Surgery 11

Beware of Beauty Doctor Who Offers Guarantees 13

Either Hair or Health Endangered by Dyes 15

Skin Eruptions Laid to Poison in Dyed Fur 17

Most Moles Harmless, But Watch Black Ones! 18

Flowers Carry Poison 20

Snow, Cold Water Best in Treating Frostbite 22

Wash Your Neck Well to Ward Off Boils 23

Psoriasis One of Most Annoying Skin Faults 25

Cauliflower Ears 26

Flopping Ear Needs Careful Operation 27

Rubber “Reducers” Are Foes of Comfort But Not of Fat 29

Be Careful in Use of Laxative Gums 30

Overeating Harmful After Middle Life 31

CARE OF THE SKIN AND HAIR AND OTHER GENERAL HEALTH HINTS

SKIN DISEASES AND THEIR CURE

There are still persons who believe that every disease of the skin can be successfully treated with a salve, a lotion or a powder. This belief and the advertisements of nostrums for the treatment of skin disease are a reflection of the actual knowledge of such conditions held even by the medical profession a quarter of a century ago.

Today the methods of treatment of skin diseases include practically every form of apparatus, every method of medical administration known to medical science. This advance is a reflection of the application of knowledge in physics, chemistry, biology and bacteriology to medicine, and of a more thorough comprehension of the fact that the skin is not merely a protective covering for the body but an organ whose condition reflects that of the other tissues and influences them definitely.

Perhaps the greatest advance has been the X-ray and the knowledge that application of its rays would affect not only tumors, whose cause is unknown, but also inflammations and degenerations of the skin produced by parasitic organisms. Not only the rays of the X-ray tube, but also those of radium, of the sun and of the ultraviolet lamps are known to have definite effects on the skin. Radium is used for destroying cancer of the skin, masses of veins, birth marks, moles and similar unsightly excresences. As Dr. Fred Wise indicated at a recent meeting of specialists in diseases of the skin, the physician is no longer limited to any single form of treatment, but may attack such growths with any of the destructive rays that have been mentioned; he may freeze them with carbon dioxid snow; he may remove them surgically with the knife; he may dry them by passing an electric current through them, or cut them with a needle whose cutting power depends on vibrations produced by electric waves. In attacking certain parasitic diseases of the skin, the specialist reaches them through the blood, injecting combinations of dyes and metallic elements or specific drugs which produce the immediate death of the parasitic organisms when they come in contact with them.

There still remain infections and diseases of the skin which are not easily amenable to treatment. Pemphigus, in which there are tremendous wheals, blisters and similar eruptions, is not known to yield easily to any form of treatment, although it may be benefited on occasion by the use of drugs such as arsenic and quinine. Generalized changes of the nature of the skin resulting from disturbances of the nervous system and of the glands sometimes resist every form of medical attack. Research in the field of skin diseases is one of the most promising opportunities for investigation to the medical man with research instincts.

COSMETICS

Since investigation has been undertaken by physicians and chemists there is less and less likelihood of the sale or purchase of cosmetic preparations, including face creams, powders and lotions, containing poisonous ingredients, although at one time such metallic poisons as lead, bismuth, or arsenic could be found as ingredients of such beautifiers. Nowadays, the difficulty seems to be that there are a multiplicity of preparations which have no real warrant, since they differ only in unessential qualities from each other. There are, for example, dozens of creams sold for application to the skin with claims that they nourish the skin, when, as a matter of fact, there is no such thing as a skin food. All of these creams essentially are cold creams, modified by varying amounts of perfumes or other thinning or thickening factors.

These statements do not apply, however, to the creams that are used as depilatories. Most of the widely advertised ointments for this purpose have as their basis a salt of the metal barium. Application of the ointment removes the hair, but does not affect the growing end within the skin. In most instances the new growth of hair is thicker and coarser and darker than the original growth removed by the depilatory. In some instances, superfluous hair is removed by the application of the X-ray. It has been found, however, that X-ray machines seldom kill the living cell from which the hair grows, unless it is applied in dosage so strong as to produce definite changes in the skin itself.

Specialists in diseases of the skin are being called on to treat thickening of the skin, or so-called precancerous keratosis, resulting from the use of the X-ray for the removal of hair by inexperienced persons. Those who give special attention to these problems are agreed that the one certain method of removal of superfluous hair is the use of the electric needle. It must be understood, however, that it is possible to remove only a few hairs at a single treatment, and that the method requires great expertness in its application.

SKIN DISEASE QUACKERY

Faith springs eternal in the human breast and credulity is not the property of any single class. One finds our best educated citizens just as easily susceptible to false and fraudulent claims as the most ignorant. Indeed, in many instances, particularly in relation to medical science, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, since its possessor is likely to be impressed with his own ability to make suitable judgments.

Of particular interest in this connection are the many cosmetics offered to women who seek eternally for artificial beauty. According to an investigation recently made, the American public paid, in 1921, $150,000,000 for perfumery and cosmetics. There were purchased 240,000,000 packages of talcum and face powders and 18,000,000 packages of rouge.

Students of diseases of the skin constantly emphasize the difficulty of determining the nature of any eruption. Red spots and slight inflammations may be due to disturbances of digestion, to special sensitivity to various food substances, to eczema, to any one of a half-dozen infections, and possibly to tuberculosis or to syphilis.

Since the tendency of some minor conditions is to recover without treatment, persons are likely to indulge in self-treatment and thus to neglect the more serious complaints to a time when a cure is far more difficult than when they are seen early. Cancer of the skin appears in its beginning as a small and rather unnoticeable spot; if seen early, it is easily controlled, but if stimulated by the use of all sorts of caustic acids or pastes it may become so serious as to produce death.

The craze for beauty has also resulted in the tremendous rise of the beauty parlor. It is easy to remember the time when our largest cities could boast of but five or ten hair-dressing establishments. Today in the Boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx alone there are 1,177 hair-dressing establishments. Here women come not only for massages and permanent waves but also, frequently, for the treatment of diseases of the skin and for the removal of superfluous hair, moles, warts, or tumors.

These beauty parlors are the outgrowth, in many instances, of manufacturing establishments for the sale of cosmetics. Here cold cream masquerades under twenty different names and women purchase for considerable sums preparations which cannot possibly do the things that are claimed for them.

One finds “rose leaf cleansers,” “skin fresheners,” “face moulding creams,” “balsam tissue astringents,” “skin fatteners” and “skin thinners,” cleansing creams and vanishing creams, regardless of the fact that specialists in the disease of the skin have stated again and again that all that any cream can accomplish is simply to make the skin more pliable.

MAGIC OF PLASTIC SURGERY REPLACES SCARRING KNIFE

During the World War the mutilating injuries suffered by many of the men were assuaged through the development of new features in surgical technique.

Whereas formerly it was considered sufficient merely to sew up a wound, to amputate a shattered limb or to save life regardless of appearance, surgeons then began to consider operations with a view to the most presentable appearance possible after repair.

The technique itself is difficult but the war yielded a few masters in the medical service of each of the warring nations.

_Stitching and Filling In._--In addition to making wounds more sightly by fine stitching, methods were evolved for filling in defects by transplanting tissues from points elsewhere in the body.

For instance, a wound under the eye was repaired by moving some of the loose tissue from the forehead or the cheek. This was left attached to its original blood supply until new vessels had come in and then the original attachment or pedicle was removed.

In one instance tissue taken from the upper part of the chest filled in the side of the face. Here mutilations were made sightly and at least a tolerable existence given to men whose lives otherwise might have been an agony of sensitiveness.

_Transplanting Muscles._--In one case a man whose arm was lost at the shoulder had not even enough of a stump to attach an artificial limb.

By transplanting muscles and tendons from neighboring parts, surgeons were able to make a stump that served well for the attachment of an artificial limb with which the man was able to earn a livelihood.

The economic aspects of the situation are, of course, even more important than those relating wholly to the patient’s appearance.

BUTTON IN SAVAGE’S SKULL FIRST PLASTIC SURGERY

Even the ancient savages used to make holes in the skull to let out the demons which they believed were responsible for disease.

Instances are recorded in which they also repaired such holes by the insertion of buttons of bone previously removed. In attempting to repair the ravages of disease, surgeons today sometimes fill in defects with substances of various kinds. At the recent meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology in Colorado Springs, one entire session was devoted to the newest points in this fine surgical art.

_Removing an Eye._--When an eye must be removed because of inflammation or disease--and this sometimes done promptly to save the sight of the remaining eye--the cavity that is left may be extremely unsightly. Dr. Harold Gifford of Omaha told of various operations that are done to secure a good appearance. When an artificial eye is to be worn the socket must be made suitable to hold it. Sometimes paraffin is employed to develop a proper cavity, although most physicians fear this substance because its injection may produce irritations and overgrowth more unsightly and certainly more dangerous than the condition the paraffin was planned to correct.

Dr. Harry L. Pollock of Chicago told of several instances in which cancerous growths had followed the injection of paraffin by beauty doctors to relieve wrinkles or the sunken bridge of a nose injured by a blow. The appearance seemed beautiful immediately after the injection of the paraffin, but soon the irritation set in. Then the face became a mass of humpy tumors which had to be removed by surgery and which left serious scars.

Celluloid was tried for a while, but it also was discarded because the results were unsatisfactory.

_Use of Ivory._--The newest and for the present apparently the best substance to use for repairing defects is ivory--either natural or synthetic. Dr. Pollock pointed out that this substance is more nearly like bone in its composition than any other substance known. Both bone and cartilage are used also, but Dr. Pollock’s experience inclined him to favor ivory over either.

Obviously this work is not for the amateur, but for the experienced worker. The so-called advertising beauty doctors seldom attempt it because the conditions under which most of them work are not conducive to successful surgery. They choose rather to delude their patients with promises of rapid and easy relief that are never fulfilled.

BEWARE OF BEAUTY DOCTOR WHO OFFERS GUARANTEES

Recently there came to medical attention the case of a woman who had been the victim of the search for beauty through surgery. She was the wife of a prominent merchant in a foreign country.

When she was eight years old she was operated on for the relief of tuberculous glands in her neck. She grew up, married successfully and gave birth to a handsome son.

But in the meanwhile her life, comfortable enough otherwise, was disturbed because the scars of her operation showed when she wore evening dress.

_Tours Europe._--Finally she set out upon a tour of Europe. She arrived in Paris, where she consulted several eminent surgeons, all of whom advised against operation.

Then she heard, through the press notices of the theatrical papers, that American beauty doctors were doing marvels in such cases. In this country she reached finally a beauty doctor widely heralded through paid publicity secured by publicity agents.

She was intrigued and coaxed into an operation by cleverly written pamphlets detailing the success accomplished on worn-out actresses and movie stars. She decided at last not only on an operation on her neck but also on face lifting, face peeling, wrinkle removing and similar procedures.

_No Anesthetic._--These operations were carried on in the office of the beauty doctor, without an anesthetic and rather crudely in the arrangements for cleanliness. A qualified surgeon works in a qualified and reputable hospital. Advertising beauty doctors are not admitted to reputable hospitals.

The woman finally left the ministrations of the beauty doctor. She had unsightly scars, worse even than those for which she had originally consulted him.

Her skin, irritated by the caustic chemicals used to peel it, continued to give off fine scales. The lifting operations, the loss of blood, the weeks necessary for recovery in a low-grade hospital in which the beauty doctor finally placed her, left the woman nervous, melancholy--mentally a wreck.

A reputable surgeon makes no guarantees of success in plastic surgery. The disreputable beauty doctor relies on the shame of the patient and her fear of ridicule to protect him when his surgery goes wrong, as it so often does.

EITHER HAIR OR HEALTH ENDANGERED BY DYES

Ever since the first woman looked into a polished surface and decided that her appearance would be greatly benefited by certain sophisticated modifications, the feminine sex has been tampering with its natural beauty.

Among the first of the features to receive attention has been the hair, long known as “woman’s crowning glory,” and now merely an added source of income to the tonsorial artist. The first hair dyes were made from vegetable substances. Then came metallic, chemical compounds, and more recently the synthetic dyes largely derived from coal tar products.

Among the vegetable dyes, henna is the best known example, but indigo wood extracts, sage and camomile have also been popular. Hair dyed with henna is light red, but one hour will make brown hair extremely red and give to white and blond hair a quite peculiar orange color, extremely artificial and unattractive.

The wood extracts and camomile produce all sorts of peculiar colors. They are reasonably safe, but suffer from the disadvantage that the dyes are difficult to prepare and the result not especially permanent. Most of these dyes do not penetrate the hair shaft, but merely coat it so that their repeated use tends to make the hair quite brittle.

Metallic dyes include combinations of lead, silver, copper, tin, and other metals. All metallic hair dyes, according to Dr. McCafferty, who has written extensively on the subject, must be considered as potentially dangerous when used for any length of time. The material may be absorbed into the body and the person so saturated with metallic poison that he develops serious symptoms.

Most of the dye substances offered on the market and advertised in publications are combinations of henna with metallic substances. The dye action depends principally on the pyrogallol and on the metal, with just enough henna present to permit the manufacturer to use the name “henna dye.”

The most common dye used today is the synthetic drug known as paraphenylene-diamine. Many persons are especially sensitive to this drug and develop severe eruptions following its use. In certain instances, eruptions on the back of the neck and on the arms follow the wearing of fur dyed with this substance. In Germany, the dye must always be marked with a “poison” label and most European countries have followed that example.

In this country, legislatures are only beginning to consider legislation of a similar character.

If a person is sensitive to paraphenylene-diamine, his scalp and face will begin to tingle and itch after its application, and this will be followed, in from 10 to 12 hours, by a swelling and blistering of the skin. The eyelids also may swell to such an extent that the person is unable to see.

Most of the cosmetic establishments use this dye for their work. The treatment given by most physicians consists in wet dressings of boric acid solutions and in small doses of X-ray to the region concerned. Following the subsidence of the preliminary symptoms, soothing creams are applied to the tissues. Dr. McCafferty points out that every substance used as a dye remover is a dangerous poison, which, if it does not injure the person using it, at least makes the hair extremely brittle. It is his belief that dye removers should be legislated out of the beauty shops.

SKIN ERUPTIONS LAID TO POISON IN DYED FUR

Every winter physicians who specialize in diseases of the skin are asked to see cases of eruptions around the throat and wrists resulting from poisoning with incompletely or improperly dyed furs.

The principal symptoms are blotches and swelling with itching and burning, so severe in some cases that the person cannot sleep at night.

_Rabbit Becomes Beaver._--The trouble is found in most instances to result from rabbit that is dyed to imitate beaver, although all sorts of furs may be involved.

In these cases the poisonous substance is usually a compound of paraphenylene-diamine, the same poisonous substance that causes irritation of the scalps of those who attempt to dye gray hair black.

Many foreign nations have introduced laws to prevent the use of this substance in hair dyes and to regulate the fur-dying industry. Similar laws have been passed in some of our states, but there is as yet no nation-wide regulation regarding the use of this substance.

_Investigate Cases._--Not all persons are equally sensitive to this dye. Some may wear furs dyed in this manner without symptoms, but those who are sensitive develop severe reactions.

Several investigative committees are attempting to secure a record of all the cases of this type that occur.

If anyone knows of such an instance, the report may be sent to the Committee on Dye Poisoning of the American Medical Association, 535 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago.

MOST MOLES HARMLESS, BUT WATCH BLACK ONES!

It has been estimated that there are five moles on an average on every person in the city of Chicago.

If all of these were to be removed, it would require more than 15,000,000 separate surgical operations.

The history of moles would be an extremely interesting topic, since they were long regarded as of great significance--sometimes considered the work of evil spirits; sometimes thought to be due to the influence of the moon or the stars, and occasionally thought to be of importance in determining configuration of the body.

_Superstition._--Charts of moles were prepared so that one might tell by observation of those that were visible where to expect others that might be invisible. Needless to say, all of this was superstitious and without the slightest scientific importance.

As long as a mole does not disfigure the appearance, it is best disregarded, unless under certain circumstances it becomes irritated and subject to the unusually rapid growth that is characteristic of cancer.

If a mole is extremely brown or black, it has in it an unusual amount of a pigment called melanin, which is responsible for giving the color to the hair, the eyes, and the deeper layers of skin.

Somehow, the presence of this substance seems to be associated with dangerous possibilities, so that a severe injury or irritation of a deeply pigmented mole may cause it to suddenly develop rapid growth.

_Watch Black Ones._--The most dangerous moles are those that are jet black. If these are situated where they are constantly rubbed or irritated by collars, garters, shoes or other garments, they should be most carefully watched.

The danger signs have been listed by some doctors as: (1) a gradual increase in the size of the mole; (2) deepening or spreading of the color; (3) ulceration or infection; (4) pain or soreness in the mole.

If any of these symptoms appear, the person concerned should promptly consult a physician. If they do not appear, the mole should be left alone and not teased by irritation, rubbing, picking, scratching, or half-hearted attempts at its removal.

FLOWERS CARRY POISON

Some persons are especially sensitive to contact with toxic substances derived from plants. The poison ivy, oak, and sumac may cause severe eruptions of the skin in persons susceptible.

When mah-jong first became popular, many persons had eruptions of the fingers and of the skin of the face from contact with the lacquer on the mah-jong boxes, due to a special sensitivity that they possessed to a poison in the lacquer which it was discovered had been made by utilizing the juices of certain Japanese plants.

_Handling of Bulbs._--Now a British physician has discovered eruptions on the hands of some persons from the handling of flower bulbs, and has given the name “lily rash” to this type of disturbance.

It followed the cutting of the stems of the flowers, chiefly the narcissus, and from handling bulbs of the hyacinth, daffodil, narcissus and tulip.

An investigation was made in several establishments devoted to the sale of bulbs, and a small proportion of packers and sorters of bulbs were found to be suffering from an eruption extending under the nail, where splitting of the skin caused considerable pain.

The longer the nails were worn, the more severe was the condition. Moreover, the inflammation of the skin, which occurred after a few days’ work in handling the bulbs, was progressive until the worker began to use gloves.

All the workers were inclined to blame the tulip bulbs. Some of the observers thought that the eruptions were due to friction from the rough sides of the bulbs, and were ready to place the responsibility on the hyacinth, narcissus and daffodil.

An investigation showed, however, that the tulip bulb is surrounded with a single layered covering which spreads easily and that it holds a somewhat acrid juice. When this juice was applied to the skin underneath the finger nail it promptly produced irritation, even without any breaking of the skin due to rubbing.

The obvious suggestion is that persons who are likely to handle tulip bulbs in any considerable numbers ought to wear protective gloves.

SNOW OR COLD WATER BEST IN TREATING FROSTBITE