Prurigo

Prurigo is the name applied to a group of diseases of the skin, characterised by the presence of papules, scarcely distinguishable in colour from the normal skin, and so 'felt rather than seen,' accompanied by intense itching. One form of the disease, prurigo senilis, is met with in old people in consequence of the irritation caused by lice, and disappears when these are got rid of. In its most characteristic form, however, it almost always begins in childhood, and may persist through life: even when it is got rid of for a time it is very apt to recur. It chiefly affects the trunk and extensor surfaces of the limbs, and is worst in winter. The disease is aggravated by the scratching from which the sufferer cannot refrain, and the skin becomes thickened and often eczematous as well. Warm baths and soothing ointments externally, good feeding, cod-liver oil, and arsenic or quinine are generally found to give great relief, and often cure the disease entirely.