_Therapeutics._--Externally arsenious acid has been much used by quack doctors to destroy morbid growths, &c., a paste or solution being applied, strong enough to kill the mass of tissue and make it slough out quickly. But many accidents have resulted from the arsenic being absorbed, and the patient thereby poisoned. Internally it is useful in certain forms of dyspepsia, but as some patients are quite unable to tolerate the drug, it must always be administered in very small doses at first, the quantity being slowly increased as tolerance is shown. Children as a rule bear it better than adults. It should never be given on an empty stomach, but always after a full meal. Certain cases of anaemia which do not yield to iron are often much improved by arsenic, though in other apparently similar ones it appears to be valueless. It is the routine treatment for pernicious anaemia and Hodgkin's disease, though here again the drug may be of no avail. For the neuralgia and anaemia following malaria, for rheumatoid arthritis, for chorea and also asthma and hay fever, it is constantly prescribed with excellent results. Certain skin diseases, as psoriasis, pemphigus and occasionally chronic eczema, are much benefited by its use, though occasionally a too prolonged course will produce the very lesion for which under other circumstances it is a cure. A recent method of using the drug is in the form of sodium cacodylate by subcutaneous injection, and this preparation is said to be free from the cumulative effects sometimes arising after the prolonged use of the other forms. Other organic derivatives employed are sodium metharsenite and sodium anilarsenate or atoxyl; hypodermic injections of the latter have been used in the treatment of sleeping sickness. Occasionally, as among the Styrians, individuals acquire the habit of arsenic-eating, which is said to increase their weight, strength and appetite, and clears their complexion. The probable explanation is that an antitoxin is developed within them. Entry: CH3
Cod-liver oil may be given in all wasting diseases, and is occasionally valuable in cases of chronic rheumatoid arthritis; but its great therapeutic value is in cases of tuberculosis of whatever kind, and notably in pulmonary tuberculosis or consumption. Its reputation in this is quite inexpugnable. It is essential to remember that "in phthisis the key of the situation is the state of the alimentary tract," and the utmost care must be taken to obviate the nausea, loss of appetite and diarrhoea, only too easily induced by this oil. It is best to begin with only one dose in the twenty-four hours, to be taken just before going to sleep, so that the patient is saved its unpleasant "repetition" from an unaccustomed stomach. In general, it is therefore wise to order a double dose at bedtime. The oil may be given in capsules, or in the form of an emulsion, with or without malt-extract, or success may be obtained by adding, to every two drachms of the oil, ten minims of pure ether and a drop of peppermint oil. The usual dose, at starting, is one or two drachms, but the oil should be given eventually in the largest quantities that the patient can tolerate. Entry: COD