ANTISEPTICS 485 



It is occasionally employed as an inhalation in certain forms of catarrh 

 in which malignant sore-throat is a prominent symptom. 



Carbolic acid is prescribed internally in some instances where the 

 production of gases from fermented ingesta is a direct cause of flatulent 

 colic and other intestinal troubles. 



Sulpho-carbolates Of Soda and Zinc are products of the union of 

 sulphuric and carbolic acids with bases of the metals sodium and zinc. 



Sulpho-carbolate of soda, as an internal remedy, is particularly adapted 

 to those fermentative conditions of the stomach and bow r els referred to in 

 the last paragraph. It appears to have all the antiseptic advantages of 

 carbolic acid without its irritative effects. The sulpho-carbolate of zinc is 

 chiefly used as a dressing for wounds. In addition to its antiseptic proper- 

 ties it has a beneficial action in the repression of too profuse granulations or 

 "proud flesh". 



Resorcin, another product of fractional distillation of coal-tar, is in its 

 action very similar to carbolic acid, but possessed of other properties not 

 yet fully understood. 



It has been used by veterinary surgeons only for a short time, but is 

 highly spoken of by them in the treatment of wounds, and for the pre- 

 vention of fermentation in the stomachs of animals which have gorged 

 themselves with food. 



It is thought to be an antipyretic, because it produces copious perspira- 

 tion, followed by reduction of temperature. 



Creasote is another, and one of the oldest, of coal-tar distillations used 

 in medicine. Inhaled, it is quite as effectual as carbolic acid, and much 

 safer. 



As an ointment, it is destructive of parasitic life without unduly 

 irritating the skin of the patient, and as an antiseptic dressing it is 

 also a useful agent. 



Boric or Boracic Acid is a mild antiseptic, and frequently employed 

 as a mouth-wash where the stronger agents above mentioned might prove too 

 irritating or productive of nausea. As a lotion it is used for wounds and 

 saddle-galls, and, in combination with oxide of zinc and flour, to check the 

 spread of ulcers and dry up raw surfaces w r hich cannot be protected by 

 mechanical appliances. 



Sulphurous Acid is the gas that is set free by burning sulphur. It is 

 an old-fashioned disinfectant of great potency, and occasionally prescribed 

 as an inhalant in place of those referred to above. Dissolved in water, and 

 of certain strength, it retains the same name, and further diluted forms a 

 valuable lotion in the treatment of ringworm, grease, and thrush. It is but 

 rarely employed as an internal remedy, its action being very similar to 



