318 
Current  Literature. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  19 19. 
may  be  sterilized,  are  strong  reasons  for  its  use  in  surgery.  Benzyl 
alcohol  is  a  liquid  with  a  faint  aromatic  odor,  slightly  soluble  in 
water  (1:25),  and  miscible  in  alcohol  or  ether  in  all  proportions. 
A  4  per  cent,  solution  in  water  or  in  normal  saline  solution  is  prac- 
tically non-irritant  and  non-toxic,  and  may  be  used  in  the  same  way 
as  other  local  anaesthetics.  Owing  to  the  high  boiling  point  of  benzyl 
alcohol  (over  2000  C),  the  aqueous  solution  may  be  sterilized  by 
boiling  without  loss  of  strength.  The  absence  of  toxicity  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  it  is  metabolized  in  the  organism  and  excreted  in  an  in- 
nocuous form.  The  drug  is  inexpensive,  and  is  certainly  deserving 
of  further  trial.    (From  The  Prescriber,  February,  1919.) 
Marylebone  Cream  (/.  P.,  8/4/18). — Cremor  Maryleboniensis, 
as  given  in  the  St.  Marylebone  General  Dispensary  Children's 
Pharmacopoeia,  1913,  is  as  follows: 
Linseed  oil    1  ounce. 
Benzoic  acid    Yz  grain. 
Gluside  (saccharin)    x/2  grain. 
Oil  of  bitter  almonds    1  minim. 
Decoction  of  Irish  moss    2  ounces. 
Dose:  Half  to  one  teaspoonful  to  be  added  to  each  bottle  of  diluted 
milk.  This  preparation  is  recommended  as  a  substitute  for  cream 
in  infant  feeding.    (From  The  Prescriber,  February,  1919.) 
Proflavine  Oleate  in  Treatment  of  Wounds. — Berkeley 
and  Bonney  draw  attention  to  the  value  of  proflavine  oleate  in  the 
treatment  of  certain  war  wounds,  notably  those  in  which  an  ex- 
ceedingly tender  raw  surface  of  considerable  extent  exists,  the 
dressing  of  which  is  productive  of  acute  pain.  Their  method  con- 
sists in  either  spreading  a  thick  layer  of  the  oleate  ointment  on  a 
single  thickness  of  white  gauze  and  then  applying  it  to  the  wound, 
or  spreading  the  oleate  direct  on  to  the  surface  of  the  wound  and 
then  covering  it  with  a  single  layer  of  gauze.  This  dressing  does 
not  need  to  be  changed  for  several  days,  and,  when  it  is  removed, 
strips  off  the  sensitive  surface  without  any  dragging  or  pain.  It  is 
equally  applicable  to  any  large  flat-surfaced  wounds,  such  as  those 
left  after  wholesale  excision  of  the  thigh  or  buttock  muscles  and  so 
forth.  The  authors  suggest  that  after  all  operations  in  which  a  flat 
raw  surface  is  necessarily  left,  the  wound  should,  from  the  first,  be 
dressed  with  proflavine  oleate,  in  the  manner  described.  {British 
