THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
SEPTEMBER,  igoj. 
SALICYLIC  ACID  AND  SODIUM  SALICYLAIE. 
By  E.  H.  Cone,  P.D. 
Salicylic  acid  and  sodium  salicylate  have  come  into  prominence 
of  lace  years  as  specifics  for  the  treatment  of  rheumatism.  Their 
introduction  was  followed  by  reports  of  cases  of  remarkable  recovery;; 
but  immediately  following  these  reports  came  reports  of  less  favor- 
able nature;  gastric  disturbance,  cardiac  depression  and  irritation  of 
the  kidneys  accompanied  their  use  in  certain  cases.  These  unfavor^ 
able  symptoms  were  found  to  be  due  to  the  impurities  contained  in 
the  synthetic  salicylic  acid. 
Dr.  Latham,  of  Cambridge,  in  the  Croonian  Lectures  for  1886, 
thus  formulated  a  rule  for  the  administration  of  salicylic  acid  in  the 
treatment  of  acute  rheumatism :  "  The  true  salicylic  acid  from  the 
vegetable  kingdom  must  alone  be  employed.  If  you  have  to  give: 
large  doses,  avoid  giving  the  artificial  product  from  carbolic  acid,, 
however  much  it  may  have  been  dialyzed  and  purified.  An  impure 
acid  will  quickly  produce  symptoms  closely  resembling  delirium, 
tremens." 
Dr.  H.  M.  Lyman,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Chicago  Society  of  Inter- 
national Medicine  and  Chicago  Medical  Society,  in  the  course  of  his 
remarks  gave  the  following  early  experiences  which  he  had  in  the 
use  of  salicylic  acid  and  salicylate  of  sodium.  When  on  duty  as. 
attending  physician  in  Cook  County  Hospital,  at  the  time  when, 
rheumatism  was  treated  with  large  doses  of  alkaline  salts  given  on. 
the  hypothesis  that  there  was  an  excess  of  acid  in  the  blood  and 
circulating  fluids  of  the  body,  and  by  the  administration  of  alkalies 
it  was  thought  that  these  could  be  neutralized,  he  read  of  the  dis- 
(401) 
