364 
The  New  Remedies  of  1917.  {Am^yT'i^savm' 
THE  NEW  REMEDIES  OF  1917.1 
By  Thos.  Stephenson,  Ph.C,  F.R.S.Edin.,  Editor  of  "  The  Prescribed" 
Antiseptics. — The  conditions  of  the  past  year  make  it  natural 
that  pharmaceutical  advances  should  have  taken  place  mainly  along 
lines  of  military  necessity,  and,  as  a  result,  new  antiseptics  take  a 
prominent  place  in  the  records  of  the  year's  progress. 
For  general  use  in  the  treatment  of  wounds,  while  numerous 
newer  compounds  have  been  advanced,  the  hypochlorous  acid  anti- 
septics still  hold  their  ground.  Eusol  is  still  employed,  but  Dakin's 
solution,  being  less  acid  and  more  scientific  in  its  formula,  has  per- 
haps a  greater  vogue  in  military  surgery,  especially  now  that  the 
"  Carrel  method "  is  so  largely  in  use.  The  original  formula  for 
Dakin's  solution  was  given  in  The  Chemist's  Annual.  The  necessity 
for  having  a  proper  percentage  (0.45  to  0.50)  of  hypochlorous  acid, 
and  the  absence  of  caustic  alkali  being  imperative,  a  more  scientific 
method  of  preparation  has  been  adopted.  According  to  Carrel 
{J our.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.,  1916,  67,  1777),  the  chlorinated  lime 
must  be  accurately  titrated  with  decinormal  sodium  thiosulphate. 
The  percentage  of  active  chlorine  having  been  ascertained,  the  pro- 
portions of  ingredients  are  determined  by  reference  to  a  table,  thus : 
20 per  cent.  CI.  requires  230  Gm.  chlor.  lime;  115  Gm.  Na2C03;  96  Gm.  NaHC03 
23  per  cent.  CI.  requires  200  Gm.  chlor.  lime ;  100  Gm.  Na2C03 ;  84  Gm.  NaHCOs 
25  per  cent.  CI.  requires  184  Gm.  chlor.  lime ;  92  Gm.  Na2C03;  76  Gm.  NaHCOs 
30  per  cent.  CI.  requires  154  Gm.  chlor.  lime ;   77  Gm.  Na2C03 ;  64  Gm.  NaHCOa 
and  so  on,  exact  figures  being  given  in  the  table  for  every  percentage 
between  20  and  37.  Anhydrous  sodium  carbonate  is  to  be  used ;  if 
the  crystalline  salt  is  employed  80  Gm.  of  dry  salt  must  be  replaced 
by  220  Gm.  of  crystalline  salt. 
To  prepare  the  solution,  the  quantities  are  accurately  weighed, 
and  the  chlorinated  lime  placed  in  a  12-liter  jar  with  5  liters  of  ordi- 
nary water,  agitated  for  a  few  minutes,  and  allowed  to  stand  over- 
night. At  the  same  time  the  sodium  salts  are  dissolved  separately  in 
another  5  liters  of  water.  The  sodium  solution  is  to  be  poured  all 
at  once  into  the  jar  containing  the  maceration  of  chlorinated  lime, 
the  whole  well  shaken,  and  left  to  allow  the  calcium  carbonate  to 
1  Reprinted  from  the  Pharmaceutical  Journal  and  Pharmacist,  February 
23,  1918. 
