HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS. 27 



as those of sodium bicarbonate. It increases the flow of urine and 

 corrects acidity of the bodily fluids. Its chief use is in the treatment 

 of stone in the bladder. 



Lithium carbonate and bicarbonate. — Lithium carbonate is very 

 sparingly soluble in water, while the bicarbonate is quite soluble. 

 It is in the latter form that lithium is most often reported in mineral 

 waters. This compound is most frequently used in cases of rheuma- 

 tism and gout, where it forms a very soluble urate which is easily 

 eliminated from the system. In cases of gravel and calculi it is a very 

 valuable disintegrating agent. 



Magnesium carbonate and bicarbonate. — These two substances are 

 mild laxatives and are perhaps the best of all the carbonates and 

 bicarbonates in correcting an acid condition of the stomach and curing 

 sick headache caused by constipation. They are valuable agents in 

 breaking up deposits in the bladder. 



Calcium carbonate and bicarbonate. — Calcium is usually present in 

 waters as the bicarbonate. Both of these compounds are quite differ- 

 ent in their effects from the other carbonates and bicarbonates men- 

 tioned. While the others are evacuant and promote secretions, the 

 calcium compounds constipate and decrease the secretions. Very 

 obstinate cases of chronic diarrhea have often been cured by a sojourn 

 at a spring rich in calcium bicarbonate. Uric acid gravel and calculi 

 are disintegrated and eliminated by the free use of calcic carbonated 

 waters. 



Ferrous and manganous bicarbonates. — Neither iron nor manganese 

 ever occur in mineral waters as the carbonate, but usually as the 

 bicarbonate. Both of these compounds have practically the same 

 effect. When taken internally, they are dissolved by the gastric juice 

 and taken into the blood. They increase the appetite and the number 

 of red blood corpuscles. It will thus be seen that such waters give 

 excellent results when used as a tonic or in cases of anamiia. Too 

 long continued use of waters rich in bicarbonate of iron or manganese 

 result in constipation and derangement of the digestion. 



Chlorides. — Chlorine occurs in waters as chlorides, in combination, 

 most frequently, with sodium, potassium, or lithium, and sometimes 

 with calcium, magnesium, or iron. The chlorides form the basis of 

 that large group of mineral waters, the muriated salines. 



Sodium chloride occurs in almost all mineral springy to some slight 

 extent, but in the muriated saline waters it occurs in large quantities 

 as a predominating constituent. Waters containing large quantities 

 of this substance are chiefly used in giving baths, which increase the 

 action of the skin, and by absorption through the pores serve as a 

 genuine tonic. Taken internally the flow of the digestive fluids is pro- 

 moted and the appetite increased. Putrefactive changes in the intes- 

 tines are also prevented. In large doses sodium chloride increases the 

 flow of urine and the amount of urea present in the same. 



Potassium chloride has very much the same effect on the human 

 system as does sodium chloride. 



Lithium chloride has practically the same effect as lithium carbonate 

 and bicarbonate mentioned above. 



Magnesium chloride is often used medicinally as a cathartic and to 

 increase the flow of bile. 



Calcium chloride occurs in a number of muriated saline springs. It 

 is used in cases of general debility as a tonic. It increases the flow of 



