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87
RINGWORM.— 1 his disease was discussed in my last annual
report, and has been the subject of several special reports to the
Elementary Education Sub-Committee, who, in February, 1906,
resolved that a representation be made to the Sanitary Committee
as to the desirability of the Council undertaking the treatment of
ringworm.
This resolution was duly considered by the Borough Hospital
Committee and by the Sanitary Committee, but further action was
postponed pending a full report which was to embody the results of
enquiries as to the success of recent methods of treatment. It is for
this reason that it is necessary, at the risk of some repetition, to
discuss the question in some detail on this present occasion.
THE CAUSE OF RINGWORM is a minute fungus which
grows readily on the surface of the skin or in the hair of young
people. When the body is affected it is only the superficial layers
of the skin that are invaded by the fungus. On the other hand,
when the scalp is attacked the fungus penetrates to the roots of the
hair and invades the. hairs themselves, which in consequence lose
their vitality, break off and produce the characteristic partially bald
patches. Ringworm is for the most part spread by contact of
healthy with diseased children, by changing caps and by imperfectly
cleansed brushes at barbers' shops.
TREATMENT OF RINGWORM. — Ringworm of the body
can be readily cured by numerous ointments and lotions, which
need only to be applied to the affected part until the fungus
has been destroyed. This usually requires only a few days,
and ringworm of the body may therefore be regarded as a
comparatively trivial ailment. Ringworm of the scalp, on
the other hand, is an entirely different matter. For while
quite recent cases may occasionally be rapidly cured by the application
of suitable lotions and ointments, this is quite impracticable
when the disease has penetrated deep down to the roots of the hair.
The reason for this difficulty is not far to seek. Ointments and
lotions which are sul'liciently strong to destroy the fungus in the
deeper layer of the skin and to penetrate to the roots of the hair, in
many instances produce so much irritation as to produce considerable
local inflammation and risk of permanent injury. Individuals
also differ materially in their reaction to different drugs, and an
application which will be quite satisfactory in one child will excite
a dangerous amount of inflammation in another. No routine treatment
is therefore available for the cases usually met with in
practice, and the prolonged application of drugs, made just as strong
a the patient can stand, was until recently the only known method