THE ADMINISTRATION OF A BACTERIAL VACCINE 221 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF A BACTERIAL VACCINE 



Syringe. Vaccines are best administered with the aid of a 1 c.c. 

 all-glass syringe, furnished with a sharp platinum iridium or steel needle. 

 These may be sterilized in boiling water for a minute or longer. After 

 sterilization, the parts should be carefully adjusted and the syringe loaded. 



According to Wright, time and trouble may be saved by sterilizing in 

 oil at a temperature of 125 to 140 C. If this temperature is not ex- 

 ceeded, the oil can be drawn into the syringe without danger of breaking 

 the glass. The procedure is as follows: Partly fill a tablespoon with 

 any vegetable oil, and into this place a bread-crumb about the size of 

 a large hemp-seed. Then heat over a spirit-lamp until bubbles of steam 

 begin to appear about the bread-crumb. The temperature of the oil 

 is now about that of boiling water. After bubbles have ceased to form 

 about the bread-crumb meanwhile drawing up the oil once or twice 

 into the syringe reapply the heat very cautiously until the bread- 

 crumb shows the first sign of turning brown (at about 140 C.). Then, 

 without allowing time for the oil to cool, draw it up two or three times 

 into the syringe, being careful to see that it comes into contact with 

 every part of the interior. 



If it is desired, so as to improve the appearance, to get rid of all re- 

 maining traces of oil from the syringe, this can be easily effected by 

 drawing up into the syringe a very weak (0.25 to 0.50 per cent.) solution 

 of sterilized sodium carbonate. 



Method of Making the Inoculation. As the administration of a 

 vaccine is frequently followed by a temporary depression of the resist- 

 ing powers of the individual and a feeling of lassitude, the injections are, 

 as a rule, best given during the afternoon and evening, the night's rest 

 aiding in overcoming the depression. Since the determination of proper 

 dosage rests mainly on the observation of such clinical signs and symp- 

 toms as temperature, pulse, and local reaction at the site of the lesion, 

 the patient should be watched during the following twenty-four to 

 forty-eight hours. 



The injections should be given at a point where the tissues are loose, 

 where muscular action is not much in evidence, and where pressure by 

 clothing or weight is not made. The most suitable localities are in 

 front of the shoulder, at a site about 1J^ inches below the center of the 

 clavicle; high up in the buttock, or in the side of the abdomen, about 

 two or three inches inside the anterior-superior spine of the ilium. The 

 skin at the point of injection should be touched with tincture of iodin, 



