442 
Antiseptics. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  19 18. 
good  chloride  of  lime  this  should  be  about  125  Cc.,  which  is  diluted 
to  one  liter,  and  shaken  with  10  Gm.  of  boric  acid;  the  solution  re-' 
mains  clear. 
For  testing  we  recommend  N/10  sodium  arsenite  solution; 
this  solution  keeps  better  than  sodium  thiosulphate ;  it  is  also  better 
for  testing  bleaching  powder,  as  chlorates  do  not  interfere  with  the 
result,  as  they  do  in  the  hydrochloric  acid  and  potassium  iodide 
method. 
Another  hypochlorite  solution  has  also  been  introduced  as  an 
antiseptic.  It  is  known  as  Dakin's5  solution  and  contains  sodium 
hypochlorite  and  sodium  bicarbonate ;  its  action  is  much  the  same  as 
that  of  eusol  but  it  is  decidedly  alkaline. 
As  eusol  is  a  most  powerful  oxidizing  agent  it  is  evident  that 
its  value  as  an  antiseptic  will  soon  be  reduced  in  contact  with  or- 
ganic fluids  such  as  are  encountered  in  any  open  wound ;  therefore 
in  order  to  bring  any  effective  solution  into  contact  with  the  or- 
ganisms hidden  in  the  depths  of  the  wound,  large  quantities  must 
be  used  and  the  solution  got  down  to  the  lowest  recesses  and 
pockets.  To  accomplish  this,  surgeons  have  various  appliances 
with  rubber  tubes  branching t from  a  common  source  of  supply;  this 
method  was  applied  most  successfully  with  eusol  by  Captain  Miles6 
in  Edinburgh  and  also  by  Captain  John  Fraser7  in  France.  A  simi- 
lar method  has  been  advocated  by  Carrel,  who  worked  with  Dakin's 
solution  at  Compiegne,  and  constitutes  the  Carrel-Dakin8  method 
of  wound  treatment. 
We  have  further  observed  in  open  wounds  a  distinct  outpour- 
ing of  lymph  on  the  application  of,  eusol,  thus  combining  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  hypertonic  saline  treatment  with  the  killing  power 
of  the  hypochlorous  acid  ;  here  also  the  nontoxicity  of  the  solution 
tells  strongly  in  its  favor ;  there  are  no  toxic  by-products  at  all. 
Carbolic  acid  is  an  excellent  antiseptic,  but  if  applied  to  a  wound  in 
unlimited  quantity  it  very  soon  produces  necrosis  and  may  even 
produce  symptoms  of  general  poisoning.  The  cresols  and  emul- 
sions containing  them  precipitate  a  sticky  film  of  resinous  matter  in 
the  wound,  clogging  it  and  preventing  free  drainage. 
5  Dakin,  B.  M.  J.,  1915,  2,  318. 
6  Miles,  Edin.  Med.  J.,  Feb.,  1916. 
7  Fraser,  B.  M.  J.,  Oct.  9th,  1915,  Ed.  Med.  Journal,  Mar.,  1916. 
8  Sherman,  Hypochlorite  Solutions  for  Wound  Treatment,  B.  M.  /., 
1916,  2,  621. 
