The skin and its troubles.

Date:
1879
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The skin and its troubles. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    such as headache, giddiness, obstinate dry cough, and other “ pernicious insidious effects.” In cases, therefore, of unaccountable or unusual skin trouble, it is always desirable to remember that the cause may be found in the use of articles of fashion containing arsenical colour- ing substances. Van der Broeck (Ranking’s Abstract, vol. i., 1861) very properly observes that the use of these colours ought to be interdicted, and speaking about these manufactures to his own government, he observes : “ The government, whose duty it is to watch over the public health, can no longer tolerate this incessant and un- warranted sale of one of the most dangerous poisons. By the laws at present in force, a pharmacien, that is to say, an educated and responsible person, cannot sell poison without a series of formalities amounting to absolute restriction ; and should an ignorant individual be allowed to place in the hands of women and children, even more ignorant than himself, a poisonous substance, the manipu- lation of which leads to loss of health, and death ? He who only waters the milk which he sells is condemned to fine and imprisonment, and shall a system which robs the artisan of health be allowed to continue ?” In these ob- servations and further remarks on the necessity for the legislative regulation of these manufactures, all medical men will entirely concur. Besides these more glaring instances of clothes-poison- E 2