586 
Varieties. 
Am.  Jour.  Ptaarm. 
Nov.,  1887. 
VARIETIES. 
Iodoform  Wicking. — Gersung,  of  Vienna,  has  found  wicking  impregnated 
with  iodoform,  an  excellent  material  for  tampons  in  the  drainage  of  wounds 
whose  secretion  is  moderate  ;  in  Billroth's  clinic  wicking  saturated  with 
tannin  and  iodoform  is  used  with  excellent  results.  Its  removal  is  much 
less  painful  and  inconvenient  than  that  of  gauze. — Centralblatt  fur  Chirurgie; 
Med.  News,  September  24, 1887. 
Inhalation  for  Acute  Coryza. — Fritsche,  of  Berlin,  has  found  the  following 
useful : 
R . — Acid,  acetic,  glacial 
Fifty  drops  of  this  may  be  put  upon  cotton  and  enclosed  in  a  convenient 
flask.  Inhalations,  at  first  every  half  hour,  and  later  at  longer  intervals  for 
ten  minutes,  will  be  found  beneficial. — Berliner  klinische  Wochenschrift :  Med. 
News,  August  20,  1887. 
Arseniate  of  Lithium  is  recommended  by  Dr.  Martineau,  in  diabetes  in  the 
following  form :  carbonate  of  lithium,  3  grs. ;  arseniate  of  sodium,  ^  gr. ; 
carbonic  acid  water,  2  pints.  Solution  is  effected  under  pressure.  The 
effervescing  liquid  is  taken  mixed  with  claret,  the  foregoing  dose  to  last  for 
at  least  three  days,  being  taken  at  the  two  principal  meals  of  the  day 
customary  in  Paris.  No  change  of  diet  is  necessary.  Dujardin-Beaumetz 
and  others  are  skeptical  about  the  value  of  this  treatment,  but  it  is  simple 
and  easy,  and  when  the  patient  is  not  dangerously  ill,  it  will  do  no  harm  to 
try  it. — Technics. 
Cyanide  of  Mercury  in  the  Treatment  of  Diphtheria. — Bree  (Inavg.  Dissert ; 
N.  Y.  Med.  Jour.,  July  23,  1887),  reports  318  cases  of  diphtheria  treated  with 
mercury  cyanide,  with  only  four  deaths.  At  the  outset  he  gives  from  two 
to  three  drops  of  a  l-to-1000  solution  in  alcohol,  every  four  hours,  afterward 
diminishing  the  dose  progressively.  The  remedy  is  said  to  oppose  the 
extension  of  the  morbid  process  and  to  ameliorate  the  subjective  symptoms. 
In  the  course  of  a  night,  a  threatening  case  has  been  so  mitigated  as  to  come 
to  an  end  in  three  days.  Thus  involvement  of  the  larynx  or  the  nasal  pas- 
sages and  the  occurrence  of  sequelae  are  prevented  with  almost  absolute 
certainty,  and  the  convalesence  is  shortened. 
Colorless  Tincture  of  Iodine. — The  Medical  Press  publishes  the  following 
formula:  Iodide  of  ammonium,  gij;  iodoform,  gss;  ammonia  water, 
£ss;  alcohol,  ^iijss.  The  mixture  should  be  left  exposed  to  the  light  eight 
or  ten  days,  when  all  trace  of  color  is  gone. 
Fluid  Extract  of  Quebracho  is  claimed  by  Bourdeaux  {Arch.  Med.  Beiges),  to 
be  a  useful  application  to  burns,  ulcers  and  frost-bites ;  it  dries  in  the  course 
of  half  an  hour,  forming  a  tough  and  very  adhesive  brownish  crust,  which 
can  be  removed  only  with  the  aid  of  warm  water;  and  cicatrization 
advances  rapidly. 
Acid,  carbolic  
Mixt.  oleoso -balsam 
Tr.  moschi  
aa...  gr.  xxx 
n\,xv 
Z  ij 
M. 
