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Page:Skin Diseases of Children.djvu/132

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94
SKIN DISEASES OF CHILDREN.

rations sulphur ointment has been a standard remedy, and nothing else is needed, although many other remedies and combinations have been recommended. A warm bath should first be taken to soften the skin, and soap used vigorously to remove the dead epidermis covering the cuniculi. The sulphur ointment should now be rubbed gently into the affected skin, especially in those regions where the acarus is apt to burrow,

Fig. 60.—Pustules in scabies.

and this inunction repeated, without bathing, for about five successive nights. Under this treatment the itching is abated and the disease usually cured. In severe cases it may be necessary at the end of five days to repeat the bath and the subsequent inunctions. In infants and young children, or in patients with a very delicate skin, it is advisable to dilute the sulphur ointment with one or two parts of vaseline or cold cream.