Warning on Use of Phenol-Camphor in Cases of "Athlete's Foot"

To the Editor:— I was pleased to note in the current issue ofThe Journalyour comments on phenol-camphor for "athlete's foot," especially since it warns again that the phenol-camphor preparation should not be applied to the wet skin. Our previous experience with phenol-camphor mixtures caused us to be a little bit dubious about the clinical note which appeared inThe Journalof Dec. 6, 1941, but we did not immediately begin any investigations of these preparations and, as a matter of fact, did not perform any experiments until a casecame to our attention which resulted from the appearance of an item inScience Supplementof Dec. 19, 1941. In the item inScience Supplementit states: "The remedy consists of a mixture of three parts phenol and one part camphor which can be prepared by any pharmacist." The injury which came to our attention, as I said, was the