This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables.
Many times, through ignorance, people indulge in self-administered home remedies. The results are often tragic, as the following case report illustrates.
REPORT OF A CASE
Mary L., aged 43, had been troubled with dermatophytosis of both feet for five years. She had received many diverse medical treatments, including x-ray therapy for this condition. Impatience prompted Mary to resort to a remedy suggested by a well-meaning friend who had gathered her information from an article in a digested book magazine. This article suggested the use of a phenol (carbolic acid) and camphor preparation for the cure of athlete's foot. Perhaps it was Mary's embryo-scientific zeal which prompted her to use the preparation on her left foot only, leaving her right foot as a control.
After one application of the remedy she developed a severe erysipelas-like infection with lymphangitis extending from the toes to the groin on