in which his family and friends largely participated, would have been realized. Although the epileptic spasms have returned, they are not so frequent, nor are they so severe. It is for his case that I desire more of the drug which you have kindly promised me, but I have beside a few other cases in which I would be gratified in being able to use it. Shortly after the article had been expended in this case, I called the attention of the medical public to it in the Iowa Medical Journal, of which I was at that time one of the editors,--in volume 2d, No. 2, 1854-55,-in the hope that it would arrest the attention of my medical brethren, and that a further trial would be made of it, as this was manifestly the first case reported in which it had been used in the United States. It may have been tried, but if so, it has not been reported in any of the journals of this country, as I have searched every one carefully from that time to the present. I would be gratified to learn that others had prescribed it in a disease so formidable in its character, and one too which awakens so much solicitude, on the part of the patient himself, and by the family and friends, towards one who is unfortunate enough to be afflicted with it. As I have been recently written to on the subject, inquiring in relation to the mode of using it, and that others may be tempted to try it, I subjoin the formula: B. Hydrocyanate Ferri, M. ft. pil. No. 120. Sig. One night and morning. 3j. Each pill contains half-grain of the hyd. ferri, and one grain of the powdered valerian. The dose may be gradually increased, so that at the end of three months eight grains of the medicine may be taken daily. The longest term requiring the use of the drug was one year, but at the end of that time the paroxysms had disappeared entirely. Other cases yielded to four, six, and nine months' use. Yours, &c., D. L. McGUGIN. Besides being especially recommended in epilepsy, and successfully used when other preparations of iron and nitrate of silver had failed, it has been recommended and used with success in chorea, neuralgia, and other severe nervous affections. M. M. Dupay and Jolly used it in the following form, in neuralgia. B. Hydrocyanate Iron, Sulph. Quinine, Ext. Opium, Conserve Roses, 18 grains. 12 1 Make 12 pills. Take one every two or three hours. This gives one and a half grains of iron to each pill. A medical writer suggests the following change: Make 18 pills. Take one every two or three hours, increasing according to the indications of the case. Its therapeutical utility in epilepsy is still further attested by Dr. G. S. Bailey, a retired physician of Iowa, in a letter to the editors of the Journal of Materia Medica, in which he states his only son, after having been medicated for this malady with all the remedies that medical skill could suggest, for more than six years without success, was finally cured with the hydrocyanate of iron, by Dr. McGugin. M. Fabre, (Revue de Malgaigne, March, 1853, p. 139), makes mention of seven cases of well-marked epilepsy, in which cures were effected by pills of this substance. Corroborative of his views of its potency, he adduces the testimony of “M. Roux, of Brignolles, who reports several successful cases; also of Dr. Dilasiauve, physician to the Bicetre, and other physicians. He claims for it a powerful influence over the functions of the uterus, and says it has succeeded in some menstrual disorders after other chalybeates had failed him. Iron, Iodide of.-Tonic, emmenagogue, and absorbent. It appears to be particularly adapted for constitutions of a strumous dyscrasia. Large doses are apt to create nausea and unpleasant gastric disturbance, while five to eight grain doses are pronounced safe and reliable. Notwithstanding the issues of good authorities in regard to its therapeutic operation, it is generally believed that when the compound is taken into the stomach, the system receives the combined effect of the two elementary constituents, and though the iodine be rejected, it is not so in such a degree as to interfere with its special therapeutic operations, and for this reason a peculiar remedial influence is attributed to the iodine. It may be employed in many cases of anæmia associated with phthisis, glandular enlargements and strumous manifestations generally, especially when occurring in debilitated and emaciated subjects. One-half to one dram of the syrup is recommended by Dr. Waring as very efficacious in scrofulous cases of amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea; he cites the favorable testimony of Drs. Turnbull, Williams, Thompson, and Ranking in regard to its use in these complaints. Dr. W. says the iodide of iron has been known to effect a permanent cure of albuminuria, in a subject of "broken down" constitution. Among the other purposes for which it may be used are, phthisis, chlorosis, diabetes, secondary syphilis, organic diseases of the uterus, chronic affections of the liver, &c. The dose generally prescribed is from one to eight grains. Incompatibles.-Acids, alkalies and their carbonates, most metallic salts, vegetable astringents, &c. Iron, Lactate of.-Mild chalybeate, possessing the general properties and medicinal utility of other ferruginous preparations. Some physicians claim for it the superiority, on the ground that the lactic acid is the one that attacks the metal when it has been introduced into the human economy. By others it has been designated as peculiarly fitted to overcome amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, and to combat anæmia and chlorosis. In "Dunglison's New Remedies," can be found abundant testimony to prove its efficien cy in chlorosis. Dose, ten to twenty grains daily, in divided doses. Iron, Muriate Tincture of-Diuretic, astringent and hæmatinic. It is the most powerful of all the iron compounds, and may be used when chalybeates are required. Dr. O. Reese deems this the most desirable form of iron for intestinal use in hæmaturia, while Dr. G. S. Bird no less highly speaks of its efficacy in chlorosis. This tincture is advised in albuminuria and chylous urine. In incontinence of urine of children, three drops, thrice daily, in combination with a tincture of hyoscyamus, have produced the most satisfactory results. And it is recommended as very useful in rentention of urine from spasmodic stricture of the urethra, in atonic hemorrhages from the lungs, in profuse perspiration of phthisis, in dyspepsia occurring in scrofulous subjects, in diarrhea during the last stages of fevers, and in severe cases of dysentery. Salutary changes in some forms of anæmia may be confidently looked for from its hæmostatic operation. It appears to be applicable for internal hemorrhages and fluxes generally. As a styptic there is no remedy in more common use. Troublesome hemorrhage which ofttimes succeeds the extraction of a tooth, is usually checked by one application. It is also very efficient as a caustic when applied to venereal warts, and some physicians depend on it solely to discuss them. Dose, ten to thirty drops, diluted with water. mostatic. Iron, Persulphate of.-(Monsel's Solution). Styptic and hæ It possesses the advantages over other salts in being less irritant and more astringent, and is peculiarly adapted to cases of hemorrhage from surfaces in which it is especially desira ble to avoid irritation. Dr. H. H. Toland, of San Francisco, Cal, (Pacific Medical and Surgical Journal July, 1858), says, "If applied to a superficial wound as soon as made, not a drop of blood es capes, and no pain results from the application. It acts by producing instantaneous coagulation of the blood, and will be found invaluable in hemorrhage from the mouth, nose and throat, when it is impossible to ligate the vessel, and may be equally effica cious in alarming uterine hemorrhage, either active or passive." O. C. Gibbs, M. D., of Frewsbury, N. Y., used a combination of persulphate of iron with full doses of opium, with remarkable success in camp diarrhea. Dr. G. administered one or two doses a day, for one or two weeks after the disease was checked, in order to prevent a recurrence. He administered the salt in one to five grain doses. This solution has been recommended as an efficacious styptic in hemorrhage from the stomach and bowels. Dose, solution, 5 to 15 drops. Iron, Solution of Protoxide of-For combination with elixir of bark. For properties see Iron, Elixir of Protoxide of. Iron, Citro-Ammoniacal Pyro-Phosphate of. The preparation of this article is based upon the method of M. G. Robiquet. It possesses marked advantages over the other preparations of iron, ready assimilation in the system, and an entire absence of any tendency to disorder the stomach or bowels. Persons of a nervous delicate organization, particularly females, who can not tolerate iron in its ordinary forms, generally bear this well, and derive great benefit from its use. The introduction of iron into the economy of some constitutions, far from producing the desired result, interferes with the nutritive and digestive processes, stimulates impoverishment, and occasions gastric disturbances, effects which rarely follow the administration of the pyrophosphate. Unlike other chalybeates, though morbid action of the system may destroy its utility, it is not so apt to aggravate the disorder, for the amelioration of which it was given. Again, the pyro-phosphoric acid gives to it a value, possessed by no other in the materia medica, to combat many conditions in diseases, when the system lacks its phosphoric constituent in a due proportion. It is particularly efficient in an hydræmic state of the circulation. Here the system lacks nerve power, and the stimulating properties of the blocd their normal vital activity. Under these conditions the administration of iron in its ordinary-forms is attended with little or no benefit. This defective assimilatory power is, to some extent, counteracted by administering wine with iron, but the pyrophosphate is regarded a superior excitant, hence its lauded utility in cases where persons "have been over-worked by mental application, and prostrated by disquietude and care, or have a shattered nerve-power from some constant source of bodily suffering, have a thousand anomalous symptoms dependent on an imperfectly generated and distributed nerve-power, such as wakefulness, trembling, spasmodic movements, palpitations," &c. While it is mild and agreeable chalybeate, its action on the system is efficient, and it may be administered in any form that may be desirable, that of pill, solution in water, syrup or elixir. It is very favorably spoken of in the treatment of rickets and diabetes, and has been employed with marked success in anæmic diseases. Dose, two to three grains. Iron, Valerianate of.-Nervo-tonic. It has been employed with benefit in nervous disorders, hysteria, chorea, neuralgia. Anæmic conditions complicated with irritability excitability of the nerves have improved under the influence of this salt. one to two grains, repeated several times a day. Elixirs of Iron. Dose Iron, Elixir of Protoxide of.--The several preparations of iron operate as a tonic; they elevate the pulse, heighten the complexion, and promote the secretions, and are most useful when there is debility, relaxation and languid circulation. The most desirable is that which is most easily assimilable and most acceptable and pleasant to the patients. The protoxide, to fulfill these conditions, is receiving high recommendations, and daily securing a stronger hold on the confidence of the profession as a remedial agency of superior efficacy in ordinary cases of prostration and disorderd life. It is the form of iron containing the least of oxygen. The proneness of the protoxide to absorb oxygen and to pass into a sesquoxide state is partially counteracted by this combination, though the chemical affinity is weak, and when once the elixir is introduced into the system and subjected to its modifying influences, decomposition readily takes place and the protoxide freed and readily assimilated. It is reliable, pleasant, and very free from any disagreeable taste. It is a conceded fact that vegetable tonics materially aid the operations of iron, and in the elixir we have this adjuvant. This preparation supplies promptly to the blood and capillaries the coloring matter necessary to give what is termed good red blood. It is prescribed for chlorotic anæmia, scrofula, chorea, atonic dyspepsia, and physicians, who have used it, attest its promptness of action. Each fluid dram contains five grains of iron. Iron, Protoxide of and Quinia, Elixir of. This preparation combines all the tonic properties of the iron, with the tonic and antiperiodic properties of quinine, and is admirably adapted for children and delicate females, and is adapted to most cases where iron would be used. Each fluid dram contains one-fourth grain of quinia. Dose, one dram. |