MEDICAL.
Waiting in Hope.—Freckles are undoubtedly due to the sun. They are not caused by heat but by light. There is always a certain amount of pigment in the skin, and under the influence of strong light this pigment increases greatly in quantity, and becomes gathered together in small patches. These patches are freckles. Where the light of the sun is more intense than it is in our climate, the patches of pigment coalesce, and the face and other exposed parts of the body become uniformly discoloured. Constant exposure to the intense light of the tropical sun, through many generations, has produced the black or brown skin of the coloured races. Since the light rays which cause freckles cannot pass through substances coloured red, persons inclined to freckles should always wear a red veil, or carry a red parasol. Remaining in a darkened room for an hour or so after exposure to the sun will often prevent the face from becoming freckled. The best preparations to apply to the face for the removal of freckles are glycerine and rose-water, glycerine and lime-water, and toilet vinegar. Peroxide of hydrogen bleaches the pigments of the skin, but it is rarely necessary to resort to it for the removal of freckles, unless all other methods fail.
Curious Enquirer.—This is something new to us! That photographic films should be "splendid to put on the nose to remove red spots, or any redness," we have certainly never before heard, nor could we have guessed this curious and unexpected development of photography. Films consist of albumen, gelatine, or collodion, impregnated with an emulsion of an insoluble salt of silver, and how any of these could influence face "decorations" due to indigestion we cannot tell. Perhaps the silver might turn the spots black, but what other benefits the films could produce we cannot conceive.
W. P. W.—Your case is easy to understand, if it is true that you have heart disease. What do you eat, and how do you eat it? Do you swallow down a cup of tea and a bite of something for breakfast before rushing off to catch your train? Do you snatch a hasty lunch at any hour at which you are at leisure? or do you forego lunch altogether, and take nothing between breakfast and dinner? If you are guilty of any of these acts of indiscretion, you must expect to suffer. Your unpleasant symptoms are probably in the main due to errors of diet. You must be very careful about your feeding; never take any indigestible food; never eat in a hurry, and never, not if a whole year's income depends upon it, must you run off directly after a meal to catch a train. You should eat slowly; little at a time and often, and take at least four meals a day. You should take tea in great moderation, and you should carefully guard against constipation from any cause.
E. T.—What is the size of the spot on your chin? If it is small, it is a "spider nævus," and can be readily removed by touching its centre with a red-hot needle. Of course this must be done by a surgeon. No other form of treatment is of any avail. If the spot is larger than a split pea, it can hardly be removed in this way, but it will probably be amenable to some other form of surgical procedure. In any case we advise you to go to a surgeon about it, and not to try to meddle with it yourself, for you can do no good by external application.
Mizpah.—We cannot advertise any special soap in this column. All soap used for the skin should be hard, opaque or semi-opaque, and either scented or medicated with carbolic acid, tar, etc. Never use any patent soap, and above all, never use arsenical soap.