Preston of Canterbury, New
Zealand, mentions the case of a woman who had thus shed her skin
every few weeks from the age of seven or even earlier. The woman
was sixty-seven years of age; the skin in every part of the body
came away in casts and cuticles which separated entire and
sometimes in one unbroken piece like a glove or stocking. Before
each paroxysm she had an associate symptom of malaise. Even the
skin of the nose and ears came off complete. None of the
patient's large family showed this idiosyncrasy, and she said
that she had been told by a medical man that it had been due to
catching cold after an attack of small-pox. Frank mentions a case
in which there was periodic and complete shedding of the cuticle
and nails of the hands and feet, which was repeated for
thirty-three consecutive years on July 24th of each year, and
between the hours of 3 P.M. and 9 P.M. The patient remembered
shedding for the first time while a child at play. The paroxysms
always commenced abruptly, constitutional febrile symptoms were
first experienced, and the skin became dry and hot. The acute
symptoms subsided in three or four hours and were entirely gone
in twelve hours, with the exception of the redness of the skin,
which did not disappear for thirty-six hours more.
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