Children’s teeth.—­On no account let a child’s second teeth come in crowded, irregular or projecting.  A good dentist can remedy all these malformations and though it may be troublesome at the time, the child, when grown, will blame you for not having relieved him of them.  From babyhood, the child should be taught that cleansing the teeth is as important a part of the toilet as washing the hands.

The eyes.—­No gift is more precious than sight.  Therefore take care of your eyes.  Don’t overstrain them, don’t put anything in them, don’t follow any casual prescription, nor use belladonna to brighten them.  Consult an oculist, not an optician, if there is anything the matter with them.  Bathe them in hot water when they feel tired and drawn.  Eyesight is too precious to be tampered with.  If a child is cross-eyed, a simple operation will straighten them, and it is a crime not to have it done.

Eyelashes and eyebrows.—­The best application for these is the simplest.  Just a little yellow vaselin, which encourages growth.  Don’t clip, either.  Frequent brushing will generally train the brows into a shapely line.  A heavy, coarse hair may be pulled out with the fingers.

The feet.—­The three most frequent evils to which the feet are heir are corns, bunions or enlarged joints, and chilblains.  Ingrowing nails are much less common, but make up in painfulness.

Corns.—­Corns are of three kinds:  callous spots, soft corns, and corns.  Callous spots may be rubbed or pared down and rubbed with cocoa butter.  Soft corns come between the toes and are very painful.  Soak absorbent cotton in a little turpentine and put between the toes; or sprinkle the cotton with powdered alum.  These corns are supposed to be due to moisture between the toes and are sometimes cured and often prevented by keeping absorbent cotton between the toes.  Prevention saves a lot of suffering.  “Just corns” are calloused spots with hard center; pressure on this causes pain.  Soaking in hot water, and shaving off as much of the hardened skin as can be removed with safety, affords relief.  The little hard core should be taken out.

Precautions.—­Be sure that your knife, razor, or whatever implement is used is perfectly clean (sterilized) and avoid drawing blood.  If this happens, use some antiseptic.  Cases of blood-poisoning that have resulted fatally have been caused by such wounds.  If you wear colored hose, have them washed before wearing, as the dye may be injurious.

[Beauty and the toilet 799]

Bunions.—­These painful enlargements are due to a too short shoe, or one that does not fit well.  Better discard such footwear; it will be cheaper in the end.  Paint the sore joint with a mixture of equal parts of glycerin, tincture of iodine and carbolic acid; using a camel’s hair brush.  Stockings that are too short may produce the same affliction.