114 THE ALUMNI JOURNAL 



to help them. But I do not brag about these unfortunate accidents, 

 nor do I therefore accuse or condemn the medical profession and 

 advise people to consult a prescribing pharmacist in preference to 

 a dispensing physician. The one is as bad and detrimental to 

 public health as the other. 



Let truth and common sense prevail and both the dispensing 

 physician and prescribing pharmacist will disappear. 



DIFFICULT DISPENSING OF OILY SUBSTANCES.* 



By J. Leon Lascofif, Nev^ York. 

 In presenting this subject to you I have borne in mind the fact 

 that prescriptions submitted to us with oily substances are diffi- 

 cult to dispense in a form which is not alone elegant in appearance 

 but must have uniform distribution. I refer especially to mineral 



oils. 



Oils of hydrocarbon variety are not easily miscible with some 

 ingredients: firstly, their tendency when standing, is to separate 

 themselves, and seek dififerent levels; secondly, a mineral oil does 

 not form as ready a solvent for every drug and chemical. These 

 facts are to be taken into consideration more now than ever be- 

 fore, as prescribers are using them more frequently and manu- 

 facturing concerns are bringing out new refinements of oil almost 

 daily ; each bearing another trade name and almost all dififering in 

 their solubility and absorbing qualities. 



I shall demonstrate by illustration later on how some of these 

 prescriptions submitted to us look very simple and show no evidence 

 of any difficulty on their face. 



For many years LIQ. PETROLATUM of the U. S. P. was the 

 original standby of the prescriber and was the only hydrocarbon 

 oil that entered into the usual prescriptions for atomizing pur- 

 poses and for oleagenous applications. It was prescribed in com- 

 bination with Menthol, Thymol, Eucalyptol, Ol. Eucalyptus, Ol. 

 Pini Sylv. and Ol. Pini Pumlionis. 



Then the more refined and purer petrolatum oils such as Al- 

 bolene, Benzonol, or Glymol, etc. were added to the therapeutic 



list. 



There are other hydrocarbon oils, which are prescribed under 

 the following names : Paraf. Liquidum, Mineral Glycerine, Glyco- 

 lene, Russian Oil (a statement was made by a certain physician 

 *Read before Kings County Phar. Association. 



