A universal formulary : containing the methods of preparing and administering officinal and other medicines the whole adapted to physicians and pharmaceutists / by R. Eglesfeld Griffith.

  • Griffith, R. Eglesfeld (Robert Eglesfeld), 1798-1850.
Date:
[1854]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A universal formulary : containing the methods of preparing and administering officinal and other medicines the whole adapted to physicians and pharmaceutists / by R. Eglesfeld Griffith. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    73/696 (page 67)
    INTRODUCTION. lievintT costiveness, for which purpose a piece of soap of a conical shape, and of about° n inch in length, is the most generally employed ; but in some cases, articles of a more stimulating character are necessary. In cases of costiveness in children, the introduction of the end of a small roll of paper, moistened with oil, for a few moments into the rectum, will, in many cases, be found sufficient. _ The objection to their use is the irritation they often create in the rectum. Sometimes suppositories of opium are found useful in those cases in which anodyne enemata are usually employed, and may be used where patients have a repugnance to the use of clysters, or where the soreness of the rectum -prevents the introduction of the pipe ot a svriDffC. In all cases where enemata or suppositories are employed, they must be introduced with care; otherwise serious injury may be done to the mucous coat of the rectum; instances have occurred where, from a careless insertion of the pipe of a syringe, the gut has been seriously affected, giving rise to fistula, &c. In most cases, the injection for a child under one year is about an ounce, which is to be gradually increased to five or six ounces, as it advances in age; to a youth, from ten to fifteen years old, a pint may be given; whilst an adult requires a pint and a half to a quart. Where, however, the injection is of an anodyne nature, to restrain discharges or to alleviate pain, the laudanum should be mixed with not more than half an ounce to an ounce of bland mucilage, so as not to excite contraction of the bowels by the stimulus of quantity. Demulcents or Emollients are medicinal agents which diminish tone or irri- tation in the tissues to which they are applied, and thereby cause a relaxation of the parts, or sheathe and protect them from the action of substances capable of acting on them injuriously. The term Emollients is generally employed to designate remedies which are applied externally to soften and relax external surfaces, and, by contiguous sympathy, the deeper seated parts; these effects have been referred by some to a physical, and by others to a vital, agency. They consist principally of bland watery mixtures, or of simple water, at a somewhat elevated temperature, of oleaginous substances, or those combined in various forms, as fomentations, poultices, &c., which will be more par- ticularly noticed in a subsequent part of the work. Demulcents are bland substances of various kinds, administered internally, to pre- vent the action of irritating matters on mucous membranes, or to soothe or lubricate these parts when irritated or inflamed. They are useful in irritation and inflamma- tion of the stomach and bowels, in like conditions of the air-passages and lungs, as well as in affections of the urinary apparatus. When prescribed in cases of catarrh, and other morbid conditions of the respiratory organs, they are usually directed to be taken ad libitum ; but they should be swallowed slowly, for their main efficacy arises from their lubricating effect on the parts with which they come in contact; and this soothing influence is extended by sympathy to the bronchial membranes and pulmonic structure. They should be taken after a flt of coughing, for, as, by that spasmodic effort, the acrid secretion of the inflamed mucous surface is thrown off, they are enabled to come in direct contact with the irritated part, and thus exercise their soothing influence more efficiently. Diaphoretics are those medicinal agents which promote and increase cutaneous transpiration. These articles are numerous, and of a very heterogeneous character. In general, warm diluents, aided by external heat, are very eftectual means of pro- moting perspiration; whilst, in some cases, this excretion is better promoted by the use of cool liquids, or even by the sudden and temporary application of cold to the surface. They are in almost every case relative agents; and, to produce the desired effect, should be given in certain states of the system, and with certain precautions. Thus, during the exhibition of these remedies, the patient should be confined to bed, and covered with light blankets; his shirt should be of flannel or muslin, as these are good non-conductors of heat. Iheir action is much promoted by the free use of diluents, given either warm or cold, according to the temperature of the patient’s skin. During the continuance of the perspiration, great care should be taken that