Page:Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, volume 1.djvu/308

 According to Tribondeau, the fungus is not a tricho- phyton : he calls it lepidophyton, from the aspergiiiar-like fructifications, but he has not succeeded in gfrowincf it. Although Wehmer has confirmed Tribondeau's observation, I repeat that in my experience the fungus never shows aspergillar fructifications In old scales kept in the labora- tory for several weeks I have seen aspergillar-like fungi, but I believed them to be contaminations, as they are frequently found in old blood films, in old psoriasis scales, etc. It is not rare in the Tropics to find similar fungi in the skin of normal persons, especially when they do not bathe frequently.

Treatment. — All medical men practising in the Tropics know how diflficult is the treatment of Tinea imbricata : it is easy to obtain temporary improvement — even disappear- ance — but as soon as treatment is discontinued, the eruption starts afresh.

In the Colombo clinic I made experiments to test the efficacy of various medicaments by simultaneously applying different liniments, ointments, etc., to symmetrical parts of the body and then comparing the result. The drugs employed by me were numerous — sulphur, white precipi- tate, turpentine, etc. These are my results : —

Sulphur has no eflfect whatever on the fungus.

Turpentine generally is slightly beneficial, some scales disappearing, and the skin becoming smoother; the im- provement, however, is not permanent, and as soon as the turpentine application is discontinued the typical scales reappear.

Calomel, white precipitate, and other ointments of mer- curial salts preparations do not induce any improvement in the eruption.

Thymol and naphthol ointments may cause a slight improvement.

Carbolic acid ointments have no effect whatever