[The visitor : Roald Dahl on phobic anxiety of infections and delusion of hygiene]. / Der Besucher : Roald Dahl über Krankheitsfurcht und Hygienewahn.

In his both highly amusing and thrilling story Roald Dahl describes an adventure of his fictive uncle Oswald Hendryk Cornelius, a snobby Englishman and womanizer, suffering from delusional anxiety of infections and hygienic compulsions. Forced by the breakdown of his car in the Sinai desert, he accepts the invitation of a noble Arab to spend the night in his palace, situated like a mirage in the middle of the desert. Oswald is plagued by erotic obsessions at the sight of the beautiful wife as well as the likewise beautiful daughter. The night rewards him with the desired amorous adventure but without knowing with whom he had spent the night. Oswald's satisfaction changes to pure horror when, the next morning, the owner of the house reveals that the visitor during the night was neither his wife nor daughter.

Quantification of sweat secretion in focal axillary hyperhidrosis related to area and time: the hyperhidrosis area and secretion index.

BACKGROUND: Severity of focal axillary hyperhidrosis (FAH) hitherto is estimated semiquantitatively by weighting the secreted sweat with the sweating area visualized by iodine starch test. In this study, we quantified secretion (mg/cm(2) per min) simply by estimating the sweating area morphometrically via point counting. We have named the numeric value obtained the hyperhidrosis area and secretion index (HASI). METHODS: In 183 patients (146 women, 37 men) with focal axillary hyperhidrosis, seen in a city hospital outpatient clinic, sweat secretion was assessed by gravimetry and the area of Minor's iodine-starch test determined by point counting. Values were analyzed with respect to gender, age, and body surface area. RESULTS: HASI values, combined for both axillae, ranged from 0.21 to 22.8 mg/cm(2) per minute with only minor gender differences. Men had larger sweating areas than women did. The comparison of left to right side axillae did not disclose substantial differences. No correlation was found between age and HASI values. A subgroup analysis of 91 patients showed a good correlation of HASI values with body surface area. CONCLUSION: HASI allows for a quantification of sweat secretion per time interval and area unit, thus facilitating pre- and post-test assessment of sweat intensity as well as a comparison between the results of different studies.