ECONOMY  IN  THE  USE  OE  ALCOHOL  IN  PERCOLATION. 
13 
constipation  is  corrected,  and  the  habit  of  daily  morning  evacua- 
tion re-established.  In  more  obstinate  cases,  two  or  even  three 
pills  in  the  twenty-four  hours  may  be  required,  and  occasionally 
these  give  as  little  inconvenience  as  when  only  one  is  taken. 
More  commonly,  however,  they  produce  occasional  uneasiness  and 
discomfort,  often  amounting  to  what  many  describe  as  pain,  and 
this  at  intervals  throughout  the  day.  In  an  obstinate  constipa- 
tion, or  one  of  some  days  duration,  they  will  very  rarely  produce 
evacuation  without  discomfort  or  even  positive  pain,  no  matter 
how  well  they  may  be  managed.  But  this  is  incident  to  the  con- 
dition of  body,  and  is  not  chargeable  to  the  medicine.  After 
the  first  eifect  is  obtained  a  slow  and  careful  use  of  them  will 
often  complete  the  cure. 
When  used  in  some  such  way  as  that  indicated,  this  resin 
seems  less  liable  than  other  purgatives  to  produce  that-  reaction 
which  tends  to  constipation  after  its  use.  Indeed,  under  favor- 
able management  there  seems  to.be  no  tendency  to  this  reaction, 
nor  is  the  intestinal  canal  so  emptied  that  days  are  required  to 
fill  it  up  to  the  normal  condition  in  which  natural  evacuation 
can  be  expected. 
In  brief,  therefore,  the  advantages  of  this  resin  are,  first,  that 
it  acts  upon  the  upper  portion  of  the  intestinal  tract  about  as 
exclusively  and  as  specifically  as  aloes  does  on  the  lower  portion, 
and  from  this  circumstance  affects  the  liver,  pancreas,  etc.,  as 
aloes  does  the  uterus,  bladder,  etc.  It  is  therefore  a  chologogue 
as  aloes  is  an  emmenagogne,  and  probably  in  no  other  way. 
Second,  it  is  slow  and  certain  in  its  operation,  and  not  exhaust- 
ing. Third,  it  has  little  or  no  tendency  to  produce  constipation 
after  its  use. 
Its  disadvantages  are  that  it  is  often  harsh,  disagreeable  and 
insufficient  in  its  operation,  and  so  peculiar  that  it  is  badly  borne 
by  a  larger  proportion  of  persons  than  other  similar  medicines. 
And,  that  for  its  proper  use  it  requires  more  care  and  skill  than 
most  medicines,  to  avoid  its  bad  qualities.  When  used  in  large 
doses  as  an  active  cathartic  it  will  almost  always  cause  great 
complaint,  and  very  few  physicians  will  continue  to  use  it  thus 
without  acquiring  a  great  prejudice  against  it ;  and  such  often 
lose  the  advantages  of  -its  more  useful  application  in  its  proper 
sphere. 
