Eczema

The places affected must be protected from the air and be softened by applications of oil and ointments. The following is a good ointment: 2 parts each of boracic ointment and zinc ointment, 1 part tar ointment. Rub into affected parts and powder with oxide of zinc. The hard scabs that form should be softened by oil and poultices and be gently removed with some perfectly clean instrument, and the ointment then be applied, either as described or smeared on a piece of linen, which requires changing every few hours. Washing with soap and water is not permissible. Children should have their hands tied up at night or covered with gloves, to prevent scratching.

Source: The Complete Household Adviser

Boils

If on a part exposed to friction of the clothes — the neck for instance — a boil should be protected by a piece of boracic lint strapped on with plaster. The gathering and discharge of a boil is hastened and the pain relieved by frequent bathing with water as hot as can be borne with comfort, containing a little boracic powder, lysol, or other disinfectant. Apply with a pad of cottonwool, which should be thrown away after use. In some cases a poultice of linseed — not bread — may be helpful; but there is a danger of poultices spreading infection and causing a crop of subsidiary boils. Very large boils, among which may be included carbuncles, may require lancing by a doctor at an early stage to give an outlet for the pus. As a rule a boil of the ordinary kind should be allowed to “ripen” fully before it is pricked, as by that time a core will have formed, the removal of which will allow the wound to heal quickly. After discharge dress the place with boracic ointment or powder to prevent reinfection, and keep it clean. Since boils are the result of a bad state of the blood, a person troubled by a succession of them should endeavour to improve the blood by means of purgatives, if he be constipated, and by exercise; or by taking cod-liver oil, iron, and nutritious food if “run down.”

The following treatment is said to be very effective: smear a little vaseline upon a piece of lint, pour a little chloroform on it, apply quickly to the boil and bind in place. Change the dressing every hour or so.

Source: The Complete Household Adviser