260 INORGANIC AGENTS 



and deodorizer. It has the power, when dry, to absorb 

 liquids and gases, condensing the latter within its pores. It 

 thus both - absorbs oxygen and gives np oxygen when in 

 contact with oxidizable substances. 



In dessicating and oxidizing decomposing organic mat- 

 ter, charcoal deprives germs of their proper moisture and 

 food requirements for growth, but is not a true germ 

 destroyer or disinfectant. Charcoal absorbs noxious and 

 foul smelling gases, and is thus a deodorant. 



Action Internal. — Charcoal has proved serviceable in 

 certain digestive troubles. Since charcoal loses its absorp- 

 tive properties so soon as it becomes thoroughly wet, it 

 seems probable that the beneficial action in such conditions 

 is due to the charcoal scraping off mucus from the walls of 

 the stomach and bowels, or to increasing their vascularity 

 and peristalsis, rather than to its absorbing gases. If 

 administered continually in large quantities charcoal may 

 produce mechanical obstruction in the bowels, and it i& 

 therefore employed in conjunction with laxatives. 



Uses External. — Charcoal is applied as a dusting powder 

 with astringents and antiseptics upon ulcers, galled and raw 

 surfaces. The following combination is useful : charcoal, 4 

 parts; salicylic acid, 2 parts; burnt alum, 1 part. It is also 

 used in flaxseed meal poultices upon foul, sloughing parts. 

 Animal charcoal is better than wood charcoal as an absor- 

 bent, although the unpurified bone black is said to be more 

 efficient, since the mineral matters separate the carbon par- 

 ticles and aid its absorptive power. 



Uses Internal. — Charcoal is employed occasionally in 

 indigestion, chronic gastric and iutestinal catarrh, tympa- 

 nitis and diarrhoea, accompanied by mucous discharges. 

 Charcoal possesses the power of attracting and holding 

 alkaloids in its subtance, and so may be used in large doses 

 as an antidote in poisoning by alkaloidal drugs, as opium, 

 nux vomica and aconite. Its action is slow, and other 

 means, as tannic acid, emetics and the stomach tube, are 

 more efficient 



