Therapeutics : its principles and practice : a work on medical agencies, drugs and poisons, with especial reference to the relations between physiology and clinical medicine / by H.C. Wood.
- Date:
- 1888
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Therapeutics : its principles and practice : a work on medical agencies, drugs and poisons, with especial reference to the relations between physiology and clinical medicine / by H.C. Wood. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
109/914 page 107
![i badly, and that the doses of such remedies for them should always be proportionally smaller than for the adult. Time of Administration.—Absorption takes place most rapidly in an empty stomach, and consequently, when rapidity of action is desired, the medicine should be given under such circumstances. Thus, a pur- gative acts soonest when given before breakfast. Substances which are irritating to the stomach should always be administered not only properly diluted, but also when the viscus is filled by a mass of food, which may serve still further to lessen their concentration. Hence such remedies as iodine and arsenic are preferably exhibited after meals. On the other hand, whenever a remedy is especially intended to act on the mucous membrane of the stomach, it should be given when the viscus is empty. Again, some drugs, such as iron, are best dissolved by the acid gastric juice, and it is a matter of some impor- tance to place them in the stomach after eating, when the process of digestion is most vigorous. Mental Emotion.—Space is wanting to discuss at any length the influence of the imagination upon the action of remedies; and the reader must be referred to the delightful book of Dr. Tuke for illustra- tions. Suffice it to state that a positive announcement that a remedy will have a certain effect has often a most remarkable influence in pro- ducing that effect, especially on persons of nervous organization and Ox not too great culture to have faith. I have given a hypodermic injection of a grain of morphine to a man, inducing a degree of hyp- notism, and the next day, doubling the size of the injection but with- drawing all morphine, have caused a much more intense effect. On the Art of Prescribing Medicines.—In the practical use of remedies, very much depends upon the methods of their combination, and, so far as concerns the reputation of the physician, no little im- portance is to be attached to the mere prescription-writing. The recipes of the master are very widely seen, and he who is incorrect in the grammar or spelling of his English or Latin, or departs without reason from the traditional forms, lays himself open to ridicule, than which nothing is more damaging. A crooked, bad chirography is the traditional mark of literary fame; but absolute plainness should be a sine qua non in the writer of prescriptions. This should also apply to abbreviations: these should be of such a character as not only to be readily made out, but also to be so evident as to afford no shelter to e apothecary whose carelessness has led to serious error. In the case of alkaloids and other powerful remedies, the chief name at least s iou d be written in full. In writing the prescription, all the iugre- s s i°u fiist be put down, then the number of doses should be ecK e upon, and the individual amounts of each substance marked S,eJl 1 ]rn' 1S a veiP good custom always to place first upon the list e s longest of the drugs employed. Without further comment, the](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21982259_0109.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
