589 
PEROXIDE OF HYDROGEN AND OZONE. 
symptomatic microbe of carbuncle, before he destroys it, by 
using the same antiseptic. 
Dr. E. R. Squibb,* of Brooklyn, has also reported the sat¬ 
isfactory results which he obtained with peroxide of hydro¬ 
gen in the treatment of infectious diseases. 
Although the above-mentioned scientists have demon¬ 
strated by their experiments that peroxide of hydrogen is 
one of the most powerful destroyers of pathogenic microbes, 
its use in therapeutics has not been as extensive as it deserves 
to be. 
In my opinion the reason for its not being in universal use 
is the difficulty of procuring it free from hurtful impurities. 
Another objection is the unstableness of the compound, which 
gives off nascent oxygen when brought in contact with or¬ 
ganic substances.f 
Besides the foregoing objections the surgical instruments 
decompose the peroxide, hence, if an operation is to be per¬ 
formed, the surgeon uses some other antiseptic during the 
procedure, and is apt to continue the application of the same 
antiseptic in the subsequent dressings. 
Nevertheless, the satisfactory results which I have obtained 
at the Pasteur Institute of New York with peroxide of hydro¬ 
gen, in the treatment of wounds resulting from deep bites, 
and those which I have observed at the French clinic of New 
York, in the treatment of phagedenic chancres, varicose ulcers, 
parasitic diseases of the skin and also in the treatment of other 
affections caused by germs, justify me in adding nry statement 
as to the value of the drug. 
But it is not from a clinical standpoint that 1 now direct 
attention to the antiseptic value of peroxide of hydrogen. 
What I now wish is merely to give a full report of the experi¬ 
ments which I have made on the effects of peroxide of hydro¬ 
gen upon cultures of the following species of pathogenic 
microbes: Bacillus anthracis, bacillus pyocyaneous, the bacilli 
of typhoid fever, of asiatic cholera and of yellow fever, strepto- 
*Gaillard's Medical Journal , March, 1889. 
f The peroxide of hydrogen that I use is manufactured by Mr. Charles Mar- 
chand, of New York. This preparation is remarkable for its uniformity in 
strength, purity and stability. 
