ECZEMA
Eczema is a very troublesome disease, particularly in infants; there are so many forms of it that there is neither time nor space in this volume to describe them individually. This disease may be produced in children by either internal or external causes—from friction on the skin, from coarse, rough woolen clothes, or from starched garments, or from lace or starched bonnet strings which rub into the folds of the skin. Irritating soap, the contact of soiled diapers, cheap toilet powders, and discharges from the nose and ears may also be responsible for the disease. The particular internal causes are over-feeding, digestive disturbances, the too early use of starches which create fermentation in the intestinal tract. In the most frequent form of eczema the skin becomes red and then there appear tiny vesicles (water blisters) which soon rupture and "weep." This fluid which oozes from these tiny, ruptured vesicles, in connection with the perspiration and exfoliation of old skin, forms heavy crusts upon the face which are both unsightly and annoying.
Another form of eczema is simply a very badly chafed condition accompanied by intense itching, and commonly known as "dry eczema." A very disagreeable form is the pustular variety. One poor little sufferer that was once brought to us had so many pustules on his head that one could not put a ten cent piece on his scalp without touching a pustule. The treatment of these cases, in order to be effective and leave the child's head in normal condition, must be administered with the utmost patience every day for weeks. A doctor's help is always required in combating this sort of skin trouble. If the cause is external, then the clothes should be changed. All irritation should be removed—the clothing must not be allowed to scratch the skin. The child must not scratch himself. If necessary, little splints may be placed on the inside of his arms to prevent his bending the elbows if the eczema is on the face, while the little sleeves may be pinned to the side of the dress to resist the movement of the arms.