154 
Paraffin  Oil. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1914. 
a  day.  Other  authorities  advise  even  larger  doses,  and  Robinson 
(Medical  News,  1900,  v.  77,  p.  56)  reports  that  he  frequently  admin- 
istered nearly  a  pint  in  a  few  hours  without  any  indications  of  dis- 
comfort and  no  untoward  results  of  any  kind.  Robinson  also  asserts 
that  he  was  able  to  duplicate  the  experiments  reported  by  Randolph 
and  reclaim  all  of  the  oil  that  was  ingested.  Some  recent  German 
experimenters,  however,  appear  to  believe  that  a  part,  at  least,  of 
the  oil  is  changed  or  absorbed  in  the  intestinal  tract,  and  while  the 
bulk  of  it  passes  through  unchanged  it  is  not  possible  to  reclaim 
absolutely  all  of  the  oil  as  taken.  At  the  present  time,  the  preferred 
dose  is  from  one  to  two  tablespoonfuls  one  hour  before  meals, 
or  from  two  to  four  tablespoonfuls  on  retiring.  The  oil  may  be 
flavored  to  make  it  less  objectionable,  and  several  authorities  appear 
to  prefer  administering  the  product  in  the  form  of  an  emulsion, 
though  others  claim  that  the  emulsion  is  not  so  satisfactory  and 
does  not  give  the  same  uniform  good  results. 
In  addition  to  its  use  internally  as  a  lubricant  or  laxative,  paraffin 
oil  is  also  given  in  the  form  of  rectal  injections,  and  is  being  ex- 
ploited more  recently  as  a  dressing  for  wounds,  both  recent  and 
chronic.  In  connection  with  chronic  ulcers  it  is  being  extolled  as  a 
dressing  to  protect  the  skin  around  the  focus  of  suppuration.  The 
oil  in  these  cases  not  alone  protects  the  skin  against  irritation  from 
oozing,  thus  warding  off  eczema,  but  also  keeps  the  dressings  from 
sticking. 
The  use  of  liquid  petroleum  as  a  soothing  application  in  the  form 
of  a  spray  to  inflamed  mucous  membranes  of  the.  nose  and  throat 
is  well-known,  as  is  the  use  of  the  same  product  in  cosmetics,  such 
as  skin  creams  or  pomades,  and  the  use  of  this  product  for  these 
several  purposes  need  not  be  discussed  at  this  time. 
In  conclusion,  then,  the  object  of  this  communication  is  to  call 
attention  to  the  renewed  interest  that  is  being  manifested  by  medical 
men  in  paraffin  oil  for  internal  administration,  and  as  an  adjuvant 
dressing  for wounds,  and  to  suggest  to  pharmacists  that  they  ac- 
quaint themselves  with  the  properties  of  the  available  material  for 
the  purpose  of  pointing  out  to  physicians  the  nature  and  the  kind  of 
material  that  is  available  as  well  as  the  limitations  that  probably 
exist. 
