Pemphigus
PEMPHIGUS (Gr. miJ.<t>i, a bubble), a skin disease, in which large blebs appear, on a red base, containing a clear or yellowish fluid; the blebs occasion much irritation, and when they burst leave raw ulcerated surfaces. The disease is principally known in unhealthy or neglected children. A variety of the malady pemphigus foliaceous, affects the whole body, and gradually proves fatal. Pemphigus of an acute septicaemic type occurs in butchers or those who handle hides, and a diplococcus has been isolated by William Bullock. The treatment is mainly constitutional, by means of good nourishment, warm baths, local sedatives and tonics. In chronic pemphigus, streptococci have been found in the blebs, and the opsonic index was low to streptococci. Improvement has been known to take place on the injection of a vaccine of streptococci.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
