Materia medica, pharmacy, pharmacology and therapeutics / by W. Hale White.

  • Hale-White, William, Sir, 1857-1949.
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Materia medica, pharmacy, pharmacology and therapeutics / by W. Hale White. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    86/680 (page 64)
    (antifebrin) diminish the production by their action on the corpus striatum; and that quinine, salicylic acid, and salicin also diminish the production; but . we do not know upon what part of the thermogenetic apparatus they act. A cold bath not only abstracts heat, but-, after it has been in operation some little time, diminishes the production. Antimony, aconite, and digitalis are probably antipyretic through their effect on the circulation, but precisely how they act is not known. Sometimes the removal of some irritation which is acting reflexly may lower the temperature. In this way purgatives are occasionally antipyretics. Therapeutics.—The sole use of antipyretics is to lower the temperature in fever. Drugs which increase the loss of heat were for- merly popular as antipyretics, especially alcohol, nitrous ether, antimony, ipecacuanha, and opium, but now they are not much used. Cold is more often employed, either by cold sponging, ice, or a cold bath. Sponging with hot water will, by the vascular dila- tation and subsequent sweating it induces, reduce a febrile temperature. Of the drugs which alter the production, acetani- lide and phenazonum are dangerous because of the collapse they may produce; quinine and salicylic acid are rather uncertain, except in ague and rheu- matic fever respectively. Phenazonum and phena- cetinum are most in demand. They are certain anti- pyretics. Phenacetin is very safe, but the less power- ful. They are quickly absorbed, and so act promptly ; they are far more powerful than any drugs which act by increasing the loss of heat, and these are very uncertain in their action, often not lowering the temperature at all. Another reason for pre- ferring drugs which diminish thermogenesis is that it is more rational to lower temperature by decreasing the production of heat than by increasing the loss^