Body Lice.—The Body Lice are larger than the head lice and are commonly found upon the body. This type has bands across the back. Crab Lice.—They usually develop in the seams of clothing, however, the eggs have been found upon the hairs on the body's surface. They live in concealed portions of the clothing where the skin is most conveniently reached, where the various bites are to be found most often, as around the neck, across the shoulders, the upper part of the back, around the waist and outer side of the thighs. TREATMENT. All clothing worn should be boiled and gone over with a hot iron to destroy them. A hot bath should be taken by the person annoyed by the parasites. Bathing suits should be carefully boiled as they often become infested with the eggs and body lice from a person who may have worn the suit and had them, upon his or her clothing or person.

In some ways that treatment has changed substantially.  Some of the medicines and shampoos have definitely improved.  But who knows maybe in another 100 years they'll have diet pills that include a treatment for lice and crabs.

Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:

• The Shin Bone
  
  

  The Shin Bone. -The Tibia or shinbone is also a very large, strong, triangular-shaped bone, enlarged at both ends; the lower end, however where it articulates and forms a hinge joint with the foot, is larger and more prominent than the upper end. And as if this bone was not sufficiently strong enough in itself to bear the weight of the body, our Creator, that boundless wisdom and forethought everywhere in the human frame you see revealed, strengthens the legs by an additional bone, which is seen running on the outer side of the shinbone, to which it is firmly found at both ends.

  That is the Shin Bone and I must say that I will be happy when we get out of the glossary of body parts.  We are approaching diseases and their transmission next which should be a more interesting topic and less likely to make a person want to update cover letters from 10 years ago in their spare time.

• Virulence of Lead Poison
  
  

  Virulence of Lead Poison. — in the celebrated case of the accidental poisoning of the ex-royal family of France, a Claremont, by lead which was taken up in the drinking water, the amount was found not to exceed one grain of metal to the gallon of water. From cases which have since been observed, it would appear that the habitual use of water containing 1/10 or even 1/20 of a grain per gallon, is sometimes attended with danger. In his investigation into the cause of that curious disease, as it was formerly considered, the Devonshire colic, Sir George Baker, who discovered that it was only a form of lead poisoning due to the drinking of cider fermented in lead lined vats and troughs, found that 18 bottles of cider he examined contained four and a half grains of lead, or a quarter of a grain to each bottle.

  The poisoning of the French aristocracy may not have originated in France.  Some researches believe that lead lined vats may have played a contributing role in the decline of the Roman empire.

  Well-to-do Romans painted their walls a rich Pompeian red, which owed its color to a salt of lead or mercury. Lead was used for water pipes, cups, toys, statues, cosmetics, coffins, and roofs, but the most significant source may have been the wine of the wealthy class.

  S. Columba Gilfillan proposed a theory for Roman decay in 1965 that involved "poisons esteemed as delicious by the ancient well-to-do." Spoilage was a problem in ancient Rome, and vintners discovered that wine tasted better and lasted longer if it was mixed with a concentrated grape syrup called sapa.

  http://ces.ca.uky.edu/energy/lead/rome_lead.htm

  Some enterprising Roman probably started up a nice home business making wine ‘taste better’ and in so doing brought about the wasting of the upper class and the possible downfall of Rome as a whole.

• Cause for Bright’s Disease
  
  

  Cause for Bright’s Disease. — it has long seemed probable that the increasing prevalence of that terribly fatal malady, "Bright’s disease," especially in cities and large towns, maybe due to the poisonous effects of exceeding minute quantities of lead, dissolved from the lead pipes so generally employed as service conduits, notwithstanding the protective coating, which usually forms so promptly upon them.

  In the year 2008, this paragraph would seem like something rather obvious. But it is remarkable to look back in time and see how people consider the potential for this problem to exist, before science had proven it out. We sometimes forget that our knowledge is built on many many different precursors and actions that were taken before we came to be. Humanity learns its lessons from the people that come before it and the actions that they take. Sometimes they learn those lessons quickly, and sometimes they learned those lessons very slowly, whether they are trying to understand lead poisoning or come up with better egg nog recipes. This is one of the reasons why history is so important for us to study, not only do we get to learn some of the items from the past to avoid making the same mistakes, we get to learn how people in the past recognize the problem and dealt with it so that we can recognize and deal with new problems today.

  Technorati tags: Bright’s Disease, Lead Poisoning History