DEFINITION.—Closely resembling phlegmonous inflammation are the furuncles or boils which are quite common on the labia. They occasion much pain and distress, for the reason that they are very obstinate and apt to recur, one forming as soon as its predecessor has apparently healed. In many instances these boils seem to be consequent upon inflammation of sebaceous glands. They differ in size, some being no larger than a pea, while others are the size of a filbert.
TREATMENT.—This should be constitutional and local. Quinine, arsenic, cod-liver oil, and other remedies of a tonic character should be administered. The bromide of arsenic has been used by the author in a few cases with quite satisfactory results. As soon as one of these furuncles shows that it contains pus, it should be freely opened and a crucial incision made to prevent immediate healing; after which poultices should be applied. These small boils are extremely painful, and are very troublesome, owing, as previously stated, to their liability of recurrence. To prevent their recurrence is one of the reasons why immediate healing of the incisions should be prevented. If contraction of the sacs of the abscesses does not occur, pus will continue to be formed and the tissues in their immediate neighborhood will become indurated. In this way the furuncles may become of a chronic character. To further facilitate healing and aiding their contraction the sacs should have applied to them some stimulating remedy, such as carbolic acid or nitrate of silver. Edis says that painting the surface of the affected labium with tincture of iodine is beneficial in some instances.
One of the most important requisites in treatment is perfect cleanliness.
Pruritus Vulvæ.
DEFINITION.—Pruritus vulvæ, although merely a symptom of disease, characterized by itching of the vulva and contiguous neighborhood at times wellnigh intolerable, has, because of its occasional obscure etiology and severity, always been considered by medical authors as a disease of itself, instead of a symptom of other disorders, in treatises on diseases of women.
ETIOLOGY.—Predisposing and Exciting Causes.—It frequently occurs from external irritation, as animal parasites, or such as may be produced by acrid discharges, particularly in gonorrhoea and uterine cancer, changes in the normal composition of the urine, especially diabetic, and not infrequently during the menstrual flow. Pruritus may occur in connection with inflammation of the uterus and vagina without any irritating discharge; likewise it occurs in diseases of the urethra, bladder, and kidneys. Sometimes masturbation may be the cause as well as the effect of pruritus. Secondarily, there may be an insufferable itching in consequence of the continued titillation or irritation of the parts, although masturbation by no means invariably leads to pruritus. The habitual use of opium or alcoholic drinks often causes intractable forms of this disorder. Edis states "that the custom of immoderate tea-drinking is a by no means infrequent cause of pruritus." But instances of pruritus occur where all of the causes mentioned are lacking, and they are instead purely of a reflex character, such as are met with in women about the time of the change of life and during the latter months of pregnancy, or from the presence of worms in the rectum. If the worms migrate to the vulva, as they sometimes do, the irritation then becomes direct. Interference with the circulation of the vulva by pregnancy and tumors may cause pruritus: unquestionably, certain varieties of the disorder are idiopathic or neurotic.
SYMPTOMATOLOGY AND COURSE.—When the complaint has existed for some time, the itching will be pretty well diffused from the pubis backward, but in more recent cases it may be localized at the perineum, nymphæ, clitoris, or portions of labia. The itching is not always constant, but subject to exacerbations. It is usually much worse when the patient becomes heated from exercise or is warm in bed, thus preventing comfort or sleep, and thereby adding an additional complication to treatment. The sufferer naturally seeks relief by scratching the involved tissues, and for this very transient satisfaction spreads the disease by increasing the irritability of the parts and inducing a condition closely resembling eczema.
TREATMENT.—Inasmuch as the etiology of the complaint is often uncertain, as heretofore stated, it is highly important that the physician should ascertain if possible the cause of the disease, and thereby be better enabled to treat the complaint intelligently. In case the itching can be traced to the animal parasites most common in this region, such remedies as the black or yellow wash, mercurial ointment, or the oleate of mercury will usually prove sufficient; but if it be found that the Acarus scabei is the cause of the itching, the application of the ordinary sulphur ointment will destroy this parasite and the itching will consequently cease. If due to uterine catarrh or any vaginal affection, attention should be directed to the removal of the primary disorder by appropriate means, for it cannot be expected that itching of the vulva can be relieved so long as there is any irritating discharge constantly exciting it. The most important measure of all is perfect cleanliness. This can be secured by sitz-baths, sometimes several being necessary daily. At the same time, the vagina should be syringed with warm water or water with the addition to it of such remedies as are used for the relief of leucorrhoea. The irritated surfaces of the vulva should be prevented from coming in contact by vaseline spread upon absorbent cotton or lint, or by powders, such as bismuth, starch, etc.
In case there is an unmistakable acrid discharge from the uterus causing pruritus, proper topical applications should be made to as much of the endometrium as is diseased; the vagina should be thoroughly douched night and morning, and then there should be placed against or around the neck of the womb one or more tampons of cotton saturated with the boro-glyceride or with glycerin, in which has been dissolved borax or acetate of lead in the proportion of ounce ss of one of these salts to ounce ij of glycerin.
In some instances, where there is a profuse discharge, simply packing the vagina with dry salicylated or borated cotton will suffice. This should never be allowed to remain longer than twelve hours without removal. In those cases where the discharge is less acrid a single tampon saturated with one of the remedies named or glycerin alone, and placed against the cervix daily, will suffice, as it will prevent the discharge from coming in contact with the vulva. In severer forms of this affection a number of tampons saturated in the same manner will be more efficacious, and still permit the patient to move about. When several tampons are used they should be loosely rolled, and each one should have a string attached for convenient removal. In the mean time, topical applications can be made to the vulva, and washing of the parts will not interfere with the tampons. The author has found the following prescription of Thomas very efficacious as a vaginal injection and wash for the vulva: