144 THE H.EMORRHAGIC DIATHESIS 



THE THERAPEUTICS OF CALCIUM SALTS. 



So much interest has lately attached to this subject 

 that brief mention only will be called for of the uses 

 to which calcium salts have been put. It has long 

 been recognized by ph3:'5iologists that they are 

 essential to the continued success of perfusion fluids, 

 and now we know that they control the coagulation 

 and viscosity of the blood, and probably the functions 

 of the ovary and parathyroid glands also. 



Remarkable results have been obtained in many 

 cases by giving calcium lactate in 15-gr. doses thrice a 

 day, for three days only, in the following conditions : 



Transient or functional albuminuria. 



" Lymphatic " headache frequently recurring in 

 anaemic young women. 



Some urticarial eruptions. 



Chilblains. In this common complaint it may 

 work like a charm. 



All varieties of tetany. 



The symptoms of the menopause are sometimes 

 greatly reUeved by calcium lactate. 



In all the above, however, there is one constantly 

 recurring source of fallacy. The power to absorb 

 calcium from the bowel varies much in different 

 people, and some observers record negative results 

 after giving the drug. Magnesium salts will some- 

 times be more eftectual if calcium fails to get into 



the blood. 



REFERE^XES. 

 Mellanby. — Jour, of Physiology, 1909, p. 28. 

 Sir Almroth Wright. — Allbutt's System of Medicine, 1909, 



vol. V, p. 918. 

 Addis. — Quart. Jour, of Medicine, Oct., 1910, p. 14 ; British 



Medical Jour., 1910 (ii), p. 1422. 

 Goodman. — Annals of Surg., Oct., 1910, p. 457. 



