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94
An alternative method of treating chronic cases is by the
application of X-Rays. This method is used at Croydon,
Bradford, and many other large centres.
X-Rays prove of great value in chronic cases of diffuse .
ringworm of scalp. In one instance during 1910 a boy, R.C.,
aged 12, was seen weekly for 10 months by the S.M.O., in
order to ensure as far as possible that the ointment provided by
a hospital was being applied regularly. This was a tedious case
both for doctor and patient, and it is probable that a more
speedy cure might have been procured if X-Rays had then been
available in our district. X-Rays are also valuable where parents
are too busy or too neglectful to carry out drug treatment
efficiently, or as a rapid cure for older children whose time is
valuable.
In some cases parents object to X-Rays—all sorts of
specious and often amusing arguments being raised against their
use; then drug treatment must be resorted to, and also in the
case of little children who cannot sit still long enough for the
application of the X-Rays.
The success of the drug treatment largely depends on the
energy with which the treatment is pursued. The patients must
be seen frequently and the parents require constant attention lest
they disregard medical instructions to follow the advice of a
neighbour or borrow some ointment intended for an entirely
different complaint.
Dr. Priestley, of Staffordshire, has recently stated his opinion
that when ringworm is under treatment its infectiveness is
almost negligible, and the sufferers may mix freely with others
with certain simple precautions.
The rules of treatment should be:—
1. The hair to be cut short all over the head, or at least
over a large part.