EUCALYPTUS 381 



acid. It is but slightly irritating to the skin, unless its vapors are con- 

 fined by bandaging, when it may cause vesicles and pustules. Some local 

 anesthesia follows primary skin irritation. 



Internal. — Digestive Tract. — Oil of eucalyptus excites gastric and 

 salivary secretion, and acts, both locally and during elimination, as a 

 stimulant to the mucous membrane of the alimentary canal. Large doses 

 occasion diarrhea, and the fecal discharges are impregnated with the odor 

 of the oil. It is a stomachic, carminative, antiseptic and anodyne in the 

 digestive tract. 



Circulation. — Oil of eucalyptus arrests the ameboid movements of 

 the white blood corpuscles, and diapedesis, in inflammatory areas ; inhibits 

 the growth of the plasmodia malarise; is an antipyretic and antiperiodic, 

 and generally comports itself like quinine; but is nevertheless distinctly 

 inferior to it. Small doses reflexly stimulate the heart and cause an in- 

 crease in blood pressure; while toxic doses depress the heart's action 

 and lower vascular tension. 



Respiration. — Small doses accelerate the respiratory movements. 

 Large doses make the respiration slower and weaker, and death ensues 

 through respiratory failure. 



Nervous System. — Poisonous quantities depress the brain, medulla 

 and spinal cord. Reflex activity is lost. Animals stagger, suffer great 

 loss of muscular power and sensation in their limbs, and fall ; the breath- 

 ing is slow and irregular, the pulse weak, and there are occasional con- 

 vulsions. The breathing stops before the cardiac pulsations. 



Elimination. — Oil of eucalyptus is excreted by the skin, kidneys, 

 and mucous membrane of the bronchial tubes and bowels, and therefore 

 stimulates and disinfects these parts during its elimination. Hence the 

 drug is a diaphoretic, diuretic, and genito-urinary stimulant, stimulating 

 expectorant, and carminative. 



Administration. — The oil, or eucalyptol, is administered in emulsion 

 with g^m; dissolved in alcohol; or in capsules. 



Uses of Eucalyptus, Oil of Eucalyptus and Eucalyptol, 



External. — Eucalyptol is probably more generally useful than either 

 eucalptus or the oil. It is employed as an antiseptic with vaseline (1-8), 

 on sores, wounds, and ulcers, and in lubricating instruments for use in 

 the cavities of the body. It partially disguises the odor of iodoform, 

 and is frequently combined with the latter in ointment. Eucalyptol is 

 serviceable as a stimulating, antiseptic and deodorant inhalation in 

 catarrhal diseases of the respiratory tract with putrid discharges, and in 

 pulmonary gangrene. The ordinary doses (by the mouth) are placed in 

 hot water for this purpose. Eucalyptol, with sweet oil (1-5), forms an 

 efiicient stimulating and- anodyne liniment. 



Internal. — In chronic bronchitis, eucalyptol is often valuable in stim- 

 ulating and- disinfecting the bronchial mucous membrane during its 

 elimination. It is also efficacious in chronic pyelitis and cystitis, for the 

 same reason. The oil has been given with asserted success in various 

 bacterial diseases, as septicemia, canine distemper, influenza, etc., for its 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



