Enquire Within Upon Everything Part 75

Wormwood is a tonic and anthelmintic.

It is _used externally_ as a discutient and antiseptic.

It is used _internally_ in long-standing cases of dyspepsia, in the form of infusion, with or without aromatics. It has also been used in intermittents.

_Dose_, of the _infusion_, from one to two ounces, three times a day; of the _powder_, from one to two scruples.

719. Angostura Bark

Angostura Bark, or Cusparia, is a tonic and stimulant. It expels flatulence, increases the appet.i.te, and produces a grateful warmth in the stomach.

It is _used internally_ in intermittent fevers, dyspepsia, hysteria, and all cases of debility, where a stimulating tonic is desirable, particularly after bilious diarrhoea.

_Dose_, of the _powder_, from ten to fifteen grains, combined with cinnamon powder, magnesia, or rhubarb; of the _extract_, from three to ten grains; of the _infusion_, from one to two ounces.

_Caution_.--This drug should never be given in inflammatory diseases or hectic fever.

720. Astringents.

Astringents are medicines given for the purpose of diminis.h.i.+ng excessive discharges, and to act indirectly as tonics. This cla.s.s includes catechu, kino, oak bark, log wood, rose leaves, chalk, and white vitriol.

721. Catechu

Catechu is a most valuable astringent.

It is _used externally_, when powdered, to promote the contraction of flabby ulcers. As a local astringent it is useful in relaxed uvula, a small piece being dissolved in the mouth; small, spotty ulcerations of the mouth and throat, and bleeding gums, and for these two affections it is used in the form of infusion to wash the parts.

It is _given internally_ in diarrhoea, dysentery, and hemorrhage from the bowels.

_Dose_, of the _infusion_, from one to three ounces; of the _tincture_, from one to four drachms; of the _powder_, from ten to thirty grains.

_Caution_.--It must not be given with soda or any alkali; nor metallic salts, alb.u.men, or gelatine, as its property is destroyed by this combination.

722. Kino

Kino is a powerful astringent.

It is _used externally_ to ulcers, to give tone to them when flabby, and discharging foul and thin matter.

It is _used internally_ in the same diseases as catechu.

_Dose_, of the powder, from ten to fifteen grains; of the _tincture_, from one to two drachms; of the _compound powder_, from ten to twenty grains; of the _infusion_, from a half to one and a half ounce.

_Caution_.--Kino is used in combination with calomel, when salivation is intended, to prevent, by its astringency, the action of the calomel on the bowels, and thereby insure its affecting the const.i.tution.-- (See CATECHU [para. 721]).

723. Oak Bark

Oak Bark is an astringent and tonic.

It is _used externally_ in the form of decoction, to restrain bleeding from lacerated surfaces. As a local astringent, it is used in the form of decoction, as a gargle in sore throat and relaxed uvula.

It is _used internally_ in the same diseases as catechu, and when combined with aromatics and bitters, in intermittent fevers.

_Dose_ of the _powder_, from fifteen to thirty grains; of the _decoction_, from two to eight drachms.

724. Logwood

Logwood is not a very satisfactory astringent.

It is _used internally_ in diarrhoea, the last stage of dysentery, and a lax state of the intestines.

_Dose_, of the _extract_, from ten grains to one drachm; of the _decoction_ from one to three ounces, three or four times a day.

725. Rose Leaves

Rose Leaves are stringent and tonic.

They are _used internally_ in spitting of blood, hemorrhage from the stomach, intestines, &c., as a gargle for sore throat, and for the night sweats of consumption. The infusion is frequently used as a tonic with diluted sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol), after low fevers, or in combination with Epsom salts and sulphuric acid in certain states of the bowels.

_Dose_ of _infusion_, from two to four ounces.

[TO-DAY, ENJOYS HIS HALLS, BUILT TO HIS MIND.]

726. Chalk

Chalk, when prepared by was.h.i.+ng, becomes an astringent as well as antacid.

It is _used internally_ in diarrhoea, in the form of mixture, and _externally_ as an application to burns, scalds, and excoriations.

_Dose_ of the _mixture_, from one to two ounces.

727. White Vitriol

White Vitriol, or Sulphate of Zinc, is an astringent, tonic, and emetic.

It is _used externally_ as a collyrium for ophthalmia (See DOMESTIC PHARMACOPEIA, _par. 475 et seq._), and as a detergent for scrofulous ulcers, in the proportion of three grains of the salt to one ounce of water.

It is _used internally_ in indigestion, and many other diseases; _but it should not be given unless ordered by a medical man, as it is a poison._