A handbook of local therapeutics / edited by Harrison Allen.

Date:
1893
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A handbook of local therapeutics / edited by Harrison Allen. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    137/554 (page 125)
    ment of Chronic Inflammatory Conditions about the Articulations. It is of great service in conjunction with blisters, and rest in the treat- ment of Chronic Synovitis of the Knee Joint. After counter-irritation, the part is to be enveloped in lint, on which is spread a thick coating of the ointment covered with waxed paper and firmly bandaged. John Ashhurst often uses this treatment with great success in the local treat- ment of Peritonitis, the abdomen being covered with lint on which has been spread the ointment, and the whole enveloped with a large hot poultice. The application should be continued until slight ptyalism is induced. In the treatment of Boils, Carbuncles, and Abscesses, it is an excel- lent plan to smear the inflamed tissues with an ointment composed of equal parts of extract or ointment of belladonna and glycerin, and on this dressing to superimpose a hot poultice. Belladonna plaster is largely used for the relief of Plurodynia, Intercostal Neuralgia, Pleurisy, and muscle pains of Rheumatism. It is also applied over the region of the heart in functional and organic diseases of that organ. The skin must be thoroughly cleansed with soap and water, and afterward washed with alcohol or vinegar. This will insure the plaster adhering, and at the same time promote absorption of the drug. The same effect may be obtained from the use of either the liniment or the ointment of belladonna. Care must be exercised in the appli- cation of belladonna to large surfaces that have been denuded of epithelium. Belladonna used for its constitutional or its local effect, is much more active and prompt when in contact with the mucous membranes than when applied to the cutaneous surfaces. The extract of belladonna in conjunction with tannic acid, in the proportion of one or two grains of the extract to eight or ten of the acid, is recommended by Trousseau in Leucorrhgea with accompanying ulceration of the os uteri, the agent appearing to arrest the abundant secretion from the mucous glands. The mixture may be wrapped in cotton, or made into a suppository with cocoa butter, and placed in contact with the os. When the condition is associated with much pain, the following in- jection yields good results: B. Sodii bicarb., 3j; tinct. belladonnse, gij; Aquae, Oj. M. The syringe should be introduced as far as possi- ble, while the patient lies on the back with the buttocks elevated on a pillow. In the genito-urinary tract of the male belladonna is of great service, especially for the relief of Spasmodic Stricture of the Urethra, or Spasm of the Neck of the Bladder, following over distention, a con- dition often met with after a debauch. It is also of value in the pre- paratory treatment of strictures of small calibre, especially those of an irritable nature. In all classes of conditions it is imperative that the