MEDICAL NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 239, 8 October 1932, Page 8 (Supplement)

MEDICAL NOTES.

CAUSES OF BALDNESS. TREATMENT OF SCALP. EYE REMEDIES. (By PERITUS.) When fashion once again turns our women to the belief that beautiful hair is a "glory," and the pagan Egyptian short skirt and short hair are being forgotten, there will revive the anxiety about baldness and loss of hair, which, strangely enough, has been a masculine worry ever since wigs were commonly worn as normal dress. People are 110 longer ashamed of "false" teeth, now referred to as "my denture," but both sexes dislike bare skin upon the head, and anyone boldly and unashamedly bald is exceptional, and "my wig" is seldom spokjyi of. Let it first be understood that hair falls, as from many other animals, twice yearly and there should be 110 alarm if i.i spring and autumn the comb brings out more than j at other times. When the baldness of old age is definite it must be endured with resignation. The most frequent causes of falling hair is an excess of scalp perspiration, and in these cases the head covering, if worn, should be well ventilated. To abandon hat wearing is to be uncomfortable in wet weather,, but may improve the condition of the scalp. I have never known harm to result from frequent washing, and some men wash their heads with soap and water daily, and have thick hair of good quality. Sea bathing has the effect of causing the hair to fall in some people, and in all cases dulls its natural gloss and beauty. To improve the circulation of the ample blood supply of the scalp frequent friction is useful, and it is this treatment which gives what .success there may be to the use of advertised remedies. The parasitic diseases of the hair are not included in this, article, nor does it apply to those cases where an ilhiess —infectious or not —has' caused the baldness, generally temporary. Constitutional depression— the response of the body to-mental disturbances —has frequently the effect of causing baldness, and tonic treatment and change of climate are then indicated. • / Lotions for the Scalp. One of the most successful non-pro-fessional remedies for local use a mixture of kerosene and whisky, applied nightly and washed off daily, but it is unpleasant in use. Dr. Erasmus Wilson, the skin specialist, gave the prescription which follows, and I have personal evidence of its value. Strong liquid ammonia, three teaspoonfuls; almond oil, six teaspoonfuls; spirit of rosemary, twelve teaspoonfuls; made up to six ounces with rose water. This, made by an experienced chemist, forms a thin liquid emulsion, and does not "separate." Rather more complicated treatment is required for some cases, and it is well worth the trouble and expense to be thorough. For a shampoo-wash three times a week, use four ounces of pure (green) soft soap, with six ounces of rectified spirits of wine, and two ounces of eau de Cologne. Wash this off very thoroughly with warm water, changed several times, and dry the head with hot. towels. The scalp should then be massaged with the tips of the fingers and lightly dressed (the hair roots) with the following lotion (from a chemist): Perchloride of mercury, 6ix grains; glycerine, one ounce; rose water, two ounces; distilled water, eight ounces. This should be allowed to dry, and a lotion of pure alcohol with three grains of thymol to the ounce, rubbed in.* If the hair is dull and brittle finish lightly with almond oil or liquid vaseline. Even with this treatment once weekly only, an improvement will soon be observable. There i 6 sometimes confusion between, the "bloodshot" eyes and the redness of inflammation. The former is due to the rupture of a small blood vessel in the skin covering the eye, and apart frotp hot bathing there is little that can be done to hasten the absorption of the blood. The" disfigurement is annoying, but there is no pain, and very little discomfort. Where the redness is due to infection there is pain and soreness, and some danger, too. Oneeighth of a grain of permanganate of zinc in one and a half ounces of distilled water, as a lotion, dropped into the eye two or three times daily, is a i?afc, useful and quick remedy. The best method of applying the lotion is to lill a pipette, or pen-filler, with it, then lie down, with the head well back and a little to one side, and squeeze out a small pool of the liquid into the .space by the inner corner of the uppermost eye. The quantity held in this space is sufficient to flood the eye when the lids are separated. In mild cases, a lotion of boracic powder can be used in this way, but it is usually not sufficiently astringent and only mildly antiseptic. If the lids should adhere together at night, apply a minute quantity of weak yellow oxide of mercury ointment upon the edges of the lids. This yellow ointment is kept, of the correct dilution for eye work, by all chemists.