58 
On  Suppositories. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\       Feb.,  1875, 
thus  left  behind,  unmelted,  in  the  rectum,  in  this  condition  they  are 
very  apt  to  produce  local  irritation,  and  are  therefore  unfit  to  enter  into 
the  composition  of  suppositories. 
This  reminds  me  of  a  little  incident  which  occurred  in  our  town  two 
years  ago.  A  physician  was  sent  for  in  haste  to  see  a  very  sick  person, 
and  prescribed  suppositories,  the  composition  of  which  I  cannot  recall 
at  present,  with  the  exception  of  one  of  the  ingredients,  which  was 
carbolic  acid  ;  the  prescription  was  dispensed  bv  a  druggist,  and  one 
applied  as  directed.  After  remaining  in  the  rectum  a  short  time,  it 
was  discharged,  and  exhibited  nearly  the  same  appearance  as  when 
introduced  ;  a  second  one  was  applied  with  the  same  result.  The  med- 
ical attendant  examined  the  suppositories  more  closely,  and  found  they 
would  not  yield  even  to  the  warmth  of  the  hands,  and  inferred  from 
that  that  a  large  percentage  of  wax  had  been  used  in  their  preparation. 
He  wrote  another  prescription,  and  had  them  compounded  elsewhere  ; 
they  were  applied,  and  had  the  desired  effect.  The  balance  of  the 
first  box  were  brought  to  my  shop,  and  upon  examination  I  found  the 
fusing  point  to  be  120°  F.  '  - 
In  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  the  best  mode  of  dispensing  supposi 
tories  with  dispatch,  insuring  at  the  same  time  a  perfect  distribution  of 
their  medicinal  ingredients,  avoiding  all  foreign  matter  for  the  purpose 
of  hardening,  and  giving  the  satisfaction  to  know  that  the  cones  will 
melt  at  animal  heat,  is  the  following,  which  I  offer  to  the  readers  of  the 
Journal,  hoping  it  will  be  of  benefit  to  those  pharmacists  who  have 
experienced  trouble  and  loss  of  time  in  their  preparation  : 
Take  of  cacao  butter  a  sufficient  quantity,  powder  in  a  wedgewbod  mor- 
tar by  first  striking  the  butter  gently  until  it  is  broken  up  into  quite  small 
pieces,  a  little  care  being  required  so  as  not  to  strike  too  hard,  other- 
wise the  friction  produced  would  have  a  tendency  to  soften  the  butter, 
making  it  a  little  more  difficult  to  manipulate  ;  then  add  the  medicinal 
ingredient,  and  rub  all  together,  forming  a  plastic  mass  to  be  rolled 
out  into  a  suitable  length,  and  cut  up  into  as  many  pieces  as  supposi- 
tories have  been  directed,  each  piece  to  be  formed  by  the  fingers  and  a 
spatula  into  a  conical  shape.  It  is  advisable  to  sprinkle  a  little  lyco- 
podium  over  the  fingers  to  prevent  contact  of  heat  from  the  fingers, 
which  would  soften  the  mass  during  the  necessary  manipulation.  If 
made  in  winter,  when  cacao  butter  is  much  harder,  by  the  addition  of 
one  drop  of  glycerin  to  each  suppository,  a  mass  can  be  formed  in  a 
much  shorter  time. 
Potts^ille,  Pa.,  January,  1875. 
