The summer of 1920 was noteworthy for the large number of cases of epidermophyton infection observed in both clinical and private practice. Moreover, many of the cases were of such severity as to produce disability. The epidemiology of the disease has never, to my knowledge, been worked out, and I cannot suggest any reason for this increase in the number and severity of the cases.
The disability caused by the cases of severe foot disease led me to try several drugs in the hope of shortening the course of the disease, and, as a result of this investigation, I can strongly recommend the application of a saturated solution of picric acid in water. I have not been able to find any reference to the use of picric acid in epidermophyton infection, hence this report.
The type of case in which this solution appears to be of great service is the