ANTIDOTES 217 



ijss); castor oil (horses, 250-500, Oss to i; cattle, 500-1000, Oi to 

 ij ; sheep and goats, 50-250, 3 iss to viij ; swine, 50-100, 5 iss to iij ; 

 dogs, 15-60, 5ss to ij; cats and fowl, 10-30, 5 ijss to Bi), which, 

 however, is to be avoided in phosphorus, arsenic and cantharides 

 poisoning (solution of the poison) ; calomel (swine, 1-4, grs. xv to 

 5i; dogs, 2-4, grs. xxx to 3i; cats and chickens, 0.1, grs. iss); 

 Glauber's and Epsom salts (in lead poisoning, also a chemical anti- 

 dote). The diuretics, diaphoretics and sialagogues have a much 

 weaker evacuating action and are therefore employed only in 

 chronic poisonings. The protective antidotes are used principally 

 in poisonings by caustics to protect the gastric mucous membrane 

 and to prevent absorption. Those used most frequently are milk, 

 albumin (egg albumin alone or shaken up with water), mucilages 

 (linseed, barley, oat and quince mucilage, acacia, decoctions of 

 althaea root, mallow leaves and salep, tragacanth mucilage), fats 

 and oils (lard, butter, peanut oil, olive oil, rape oil, poppy-seed oil, 

 almond oil, castor oil, emulsions). The fatty oils, however, are 

 contraindicated in phosphorus and cantharides poisoning because 

 they promote the resorption of these substances; this is also true 

 of milk or any compound which contains fat. 



2. The chemical antidotes prevent poisoning by decomposing 

 the poison or by changing it into a compound which is non-toxic 

 or less poisonous. The simplest example of a chemical antidote 

 is presented by the caustic alkalies and acids, which in combining 

 lose their opposing alkaline and acid characteristics and form 

 neutral salts which are not caustic (potash lye, soda lye, caustic 

 lime, ammonia, carbonate and bicarbonate of soda and of potas- 

 sium, and soap on the one hand, and sulphuric, hydrochloric, 

 nitric, acetic and oxalic acids on the other hand). This group also 

 includes sodium chloride, the specific antidote for silver nitrate, 

 which it transforms into silver chloride (the administration of 

 sodium chloride in corrosive sublimate poisonmg is harmful 

 because it promotes the resorption of the sublimate); iron, iron 

 hydroxide and iron oxide, the antidotes for arsenic (formation of 

 arsenate of iron, which is only slightly soluble), hydrocyanic acid, 

 mercury and copper salts; potassium ferrocyanide, the antidote 



