COCAINE HYDEOCHLOEIDE 437 



Local applications to mucous membranes may be reap- 

 plied, ouce or twice, at intervals of five minutes, to secare 

 perfect anaesthesia. A larger quantity of cocaine than re- 

 commended above for hypodermatic use, should not be 

 employed. Cocaine, as already stated, produces a primary 

 astringent action, followed by secondary irritation and 

 vascular relaxation ; yet, when properly diluted and applied 

 in the first stage of inflammation, it may prove a valuable 

 abortive and sedative agent. 



Haemorrhage from mucous membranes can be arrested 

 by its topical application ; coryza aborted, and haemorrhoids 

 relieved by this method. Pruritus, about the anus and 

 vagina, is allayed by cocaine. In relation to the eye, 5 to 

 10 drops (horse) of cocaine solution (1 to 4 per cent.) are 

 employed for various purposes, embracing examination, 

 removal of foreign bodies, operations, and the relief of 

 suffering in acute inflammation resulting from natural causes 

 or mechanical irritation. The following prescription is of 

 value in superficial inflammatory and painful conditions of 

 the eye : 



Cocainae hydrochlor gr.v. 



Acid, borici gr.x. 



Aq. dest. ad 1 i- 



■M. 

 S. Instil a few drops into the eye hourly. 



Injection into the eyeball is preferable to instillation 

 for enucleation. 



Solutions of cocaine should be freshly made, and must 

 not be sterilized by boiling, although they should be made 

 -with sterile water, or, better, normal salt solution. The 

 tablets supplied by pharmaceutical chemists are convenient 

 for hypodermatic use. Ten grains of boric acid will pre- 

 serve an ounce of cocaine solution for a month. 



Uses Internal. — Cocaine may be administered in aqueous 

 solutions for the relief of persistent vomiting in dogs. 

 Otherjrise, the drug finds no indication in veterinary medi- 

 cine. The alkaloid is occasionally used as a stimulating 



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