The most rational measure consists in removing the general causes, as noted above, if this is possible. When the patient is thin and poorly nourished, give food and cod-liver oil; and if the lips and skin are pale, iron arsenate pills (one-sixteenth grain each) are to be taken three times daily for several weeks. A boil may sometimes be arrested by painting it with tincture of iodine until the boil is almost black, or with a very heavy coating of collodion. If a boil continues to develop, notwithstanding this treatment, one should either use an ointment of vaseline containing ten per cent of boric acid spread on soft cotton over the boil, or, if the latter is very painful, resort to the frequent application of hot flaxseed poultices. When the boil has burst, and pus is flowing out on the surrounding skin, it should be kept very clean by frequent washing with hot water and soap and the application of a solution of corrosive sublimate (one part to 1,000) made by dissolving one of the tablets, sold everywhere for surgical purposes, in a pint of warm water. This will prevent the lodgment of the pus germs in the skin and the formation of more boils. Poultices mixed with bichloride (corrosive sublimate) solution are less likely to encourage inoculation of neighboring areas. The poultices should be stopped as soon as the pain ceases, and the boil dressed as recommended above, dusted with pure boric acid and covered with clean absorbent cotton and bandage. After pus has begun to form in a boil recovery will be materially hastened by the use of a knife, although this is not essential. The boil should be thoroughly cleaned, and a sharp knife, which has been boiled in water for five minutes, is inserted, point first, into the center of the boil, far enough to liberate the pus and dead tissue. By this means healing is much more rapid than by nature's unassisted methods. Pure carbolic acid, applied on the tip of a toothpick, thrust into the head of a boil, is generally curative. When many boils occur, consult a physician. =CARBUNCLE.=--A carbuncle is similar to a boil in its causation and structure, but is usually a much more serious matter having a tendency to spread laterally and involve the deeper layers of the skin. It is commonly a disease of old persons, those prematurely old or debilitated, and occurs most frequently on the neck, back, or buttocks. It is particularly dangerous when attacking the back of the neck, upper lip, or abdomen.