ANTISEPTICS EMPLOYED IN THE TREATMENT OF WOUNDS 421 



abundant formation of pustules, owing to the activity of the germs in the 

 deeper parts of the cutis wliich Iiave not been destroyed by the antisejDtic. 

 Instruments should not be placed in sublimate solutions, as, even if plated, 

 they soon lose their bright appearance." 



" Biniodide of Mercury is a potent antiseptic which has been chiefly 

 employed in the form of a I-in-500 solution in 70 per cent methylated 

 spirit for the purification of the hands or of the skin of the patient." 



"Boric or Boracic Acid is a mild and weak antiseptic which may 

 be utilize<l when stronger remedies might prove harmful, e.g. in plastic 

 operations. It is also useful when antiseptic fomentations are required in 

 treating inflammatory phenomena." 



" Iodoform is a yellow powder of characteristic and unpleasant odour, 

 which probably acts by being decomposed in the tissues and slowly giving 

 off iodine. Commercial iodoform is usually contaminated with a variety of 

 germs, as may be shown by dusting it over a film of nutrient gelatine and 

 allowing them to develop. It is, therefore, wise to wash the iodoform 

 before use in l-in-20 carbolic lotion or some such antiseptic. Its chief 

 value is in septic or tuberculous wounds, and indeed it seems to have 

 a specific inhiljitory action upon the de\'elopment of the bacillus of tuber- 

 culosis. It may be suspended in glycerine (10 per cent), and, after sterili- 

 zation l)y heat, injected into tuberculous tissues, joints, or abscesses, or if 

 open wounds exist, gauze soaked in this emulsion, as it is incorrectly 

 termed, may be packed into them with advantage." 



" Chinosol is a yellow substance harmless and free from toxic qualities. 

 It is freely solul)le in water, and possesses powerful antiseptic properties." 



" Lysol is another useful antiseptic derivative of coal-tar. It is fi-eely 

 soluble in water, and, as a 2-per-cent solution, may be used in syringing out 

 cavities such as the vagina, external ear, &c. One of its great advantages 

 is that the solution is somewhat sticky, and tends to cling to the tissues 

 and prolong its action." 



"Permanganate of Potash and Peroxide of Hydrogen both 



act in the same way as oxidizing agents. They are necessarily unstable, and 

 cannot be utilized for dressing, and are therefore chiefly employed in the 

 disinfection of cavities or wounds already contaminated. The most potent 

 of these is peroxide of hydrogen, which is sold as a fluid capable of setting- 

 free ten or twenty times its volume of nascent oxygen. It is quite unirri- 

 tating, and may be poured directly into a septic wound or even into the 

 peritoneal cavity; forthwith it commences to effervesce, liberating its 

 oxygen and forming a frothy foam which is likely to bring to the surface 

 any loose foreign bodies. Its use is particularly indicated in the treatment 

 of septic ulcers, carbuncles, sloughy abscess cavities, and the like. Per- 



