The chigoe usually enters between the toes, the skin about the roots of the nails, or the soles of the feet, although it may attack other parts of the body. Mense records the occurrence in folds of the epidermis, as in the neighborhood of the anus. They give rise to irritation and unless promptly and aseptically removed there often occurs pus formation and the development of a more or less serious abscess. Gangrene and even tetanus may ensue.
Treatment consists in the careful removal of the insect, an operation more easily accomplished a day or two after its entrance, than at first, when it is unswollen. The ulcerated point should then be treated with weak carbolic acid, or tincture of iodine, or dusted thoroughly with an antiseptic powder.
Castellani and Chalmers recommend as prophylactic measures, keeping the house clean and keeping pigs, poultry, and cattle away therefrom. "High boots should be used, and especial care should be taken not to go to a ground floor bathroom with bare feet. The feet, especially the toes, and under the nails, should be carefully examined every morning to see if any black dots can be discovered, when the jigger should be at once removed, and in this way suppuration will be prevented. It is advisable, also, to sprinkle the floors with carbolic lotion, Jeyes' fluid, or with pyrethrum powder, or with a strong infusion of native tobacco, as recommended by Law and Castellani."