Notes upon new remedies : read before the Kings County Medical Society, August 16th, 1859, and before the Medical Society of the State of New York, February 7, 1860 / by Edward R. Squibb.

  • Squibb, Edward Robinson, 1819-1900.
Date:
1860
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Notes upon new remedies : read before the Kings County Medical Society, August 16th, 1859, and before the Medical Society of the State of New York, February 7, 1860 / by Edward R. Squibb. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    Another peculiarity is that when it does not produce the desired tonic effect, it appears to be perfectly inert or harmless, a property not often met with in efficient medicinal substances. From being bland and tasteless it is well borne by the most delicate stomachs, and is easily given to children, and fastidious persons. The results of its use being considered good, and confirmatory of the reasoning and statements concerning it, the writer then applied himself to study its character more thoroughly, and was not long in finding the cause of imperfection in the dark, clumsy syrup, and in correcting it. The fault was found to lie first in preccpitating the iron salt at too high a tempera- ture, and secondly in the use of an insufficient proportion of the citrate of ammonia as a solvent. The result of these observations was the production of the light green, elegant syrup which has since been used with similar general results. It was found, however, in a very few cases, where there was an excessive susceptibility of the mucous membranes, that the light green syrup produced, or rather reproduced a tendency to diarrhoea. This the writer at once attributed to its probably true cause, namely, the citrate of ammonia in conjunction with the syrup, since the dark syrup had less of this effect. These few cases, and the good results obtained in the first trials appear to have established a preference for, or prejudice in favor of the dark syrup which is only slowly being overcome. The dark syrup must, however, be entirely abandoned in view of its imperfections and want of uniformity as a pharmaceutical preparation; and this is the less to be regretted from the circumstance that in a very large proportion of the cases requiring ferruginous tonics, the slightest laxative effect is most desirable, whilst in the few cases where it is objectionable it may be easily controlled, either by using the salt in substance or simple solution, or by associating either of the preparations with some mild astringent. The new or light syrup has exactly the same ferruginous strength, namely, one grain of the iron salt in each fluid drachm, but in it all flavoring matter is omitted, because even the most delicate flavors become disagreeable from continued use, whilst the faint delicate saline taste of the ammonia salt relieves sufficiently the flat insipidity of the simple syrup. It is incom- patible with most vegetable tonics and astringents, although Robiquet makes a contrary statement. It is not, however, incompatible to a degree that would prevent their association in the same case by alternation, or even by admixture, provided the mixture be made at the time of administration. Liquor Opii Compositus. To any one who has examined^ chemically, the best varieties of the opium of commerce, even no more frequently than the writer has M'ithin the last six years, it must appear curious that any degree of uniformity in results can be obtained by the therapeutic use of the drug in substance, or even in powder. In nine critical examinations of the very best classes of this drug, within the time mentioned, no two specimens were found alike, and the extremes of variation in morphia strength, were 5.15 and 11.15 per