Skin diseases by M.E. Douglass

A detail lecture on the anatomy of skin, including all the layers of epidermis and dermis, nails and hairs; the blood supply, nerves and pigmentary cells, sweat and sebaceous glands are all discussed….

All violations of the general laws of health may produce diseases of the skin, hence it is very important to inquire into the habits, occupation, diet and dwelling-places of those seeking treatment….

I have found the following classification to be of the greatest help in diagnosing skin affections: Macules, Vesicles, Bullae, Pustules, Papules, Tubercles, Scales, Fissures, and Ulcers….

Whatever be the causes of the various skin diseases, we are chiefly concerned with the means that the physician has at his command with which to treat them successfully. First of this is hygiene….

It is important that the homoeopathic dermatologist should be fully acquainted with the eruptions of the skin produced by the administration of medicinal substances or allopathic drugs….

The eruptions of acute specific diseases (zymotic) which are of contagious nature, of definite course and duration, accompanied by fever, the result of poisoning of the body by special viruses-one of the effects of the poisoning being the development of certain characteristic eruptions on the skin….

Lichen planus is a non-contagious affection of the skin, characterized by the development of small, flattened papules, which frequently present a distinct central depression or umbilicus….

In obese persons an eczema may arise from the irritation produced by the confinement of the cutaneous secretions by overlapping folds of skin, as under pendulous breasts and in the groin between the thigh and genitals. …

Herpes and pemphigus might have been placed under the head of neurotic diseases, but then many others must have been included, such as urticaria, pityriasis rubra, etc., with them….

Under the term pustular diseases, thus defined, are usually comprised impetigo, ecthyma, and furuncular affections, -the later term including furunculus, or boil; anthrax or carbuncle; and pustular maligna, or malignant boil….

There are two important disease of the skin with which we shall deal in this chapter-namely, pityriasis and psoriasis. In the former malady, in its typical form, the surface of the body is deeply reddened (hyperaemic), and covered by large and freely imbricated scales or flakes….

In struma, syphilis, and leprosy the changes in the skin are but a small part of the whole disease, and only evidence of a disposition on the part of the tissues of the body, as a whole, to become changed and disordered….

Homeopathic treatment of Hypertrophic diseases of skin like Diseases of the epithelial layer of the skin, including callosities, corns, and horns, in which the epithelial tissue is especially affected….

Homeopathy remedies for Lupus, Sarcoma, Epithelioma and Cancer of skin. The following homoeopathic remedies may be compared: Arsenicum, Belladonna, Cicuta, Hepar, Hydrocotyle, Hydrastis, Mercurius, Nitric acid, Silicea, Staphisagria, Sulphur, Uranium….

The secondary forms of cutaneous hemorrhage occur in connection with typhus, measles, scarlatina, and variola, the early eruptions of which may severally be more or less hemorrhagic….

Pruritus may be general or local, and it is very generally followed by secondary changes in the skin. When general it is due to the cause of systemic diseases…….

Cases in which the pigmentation of the skin is at fault, disease may be divided into two classes-those in which the pigment is deficient in quantity (Leucoderma, or Vitiligo), and those in which it is in excess (Melanoderma or Melasma). …

Homeopathy medicines for the principal animal parasites – Acarus scabiei, or itch mite; the Pediculus, or louse; the Cimex lectularius, or bedbug; the Pulex irritans, or flea; and the Pulex penetrans, or chigoe….

Disorders of the sweat gland (hyperhydrosis) and sebaceous glands (acne, cysts) and their homeopathic management with indicated remedies….

Diminished formation of hair is partial or general, comparative (thinning) or absolute (alopecia). It may be congenital, accident, or normal (senile)….

Chilblains, is an inflammation of the skin, occurring as a secondary effect of cold, and appearing for the most part upon the hands and feet. Occasionally pernio attacks the nose and ears, and may appear on any part of the body….