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.

    134/554 (page 122)
    benzin; readily miscible with chloroform or glacial acetic acid. Balsam of Peru is adulterated with various substances, such as Canada turpentine, castor oil, copaiba, and alcohol. A solution of balsam of Peru in alcohol is sometimes sold for it. Balsam of Peru is protectant, sedative, and parasiticide. Diseases of the Skin.—Balsam of Peru is employed as a mild antipruritic and parasiticide, usually in combination with other applica- tions. In Pruritus Vulv^ Tausky recommends: R. Bals. Peru., 3]; pulv. acacije, gij; ol. amygdalae, ^iss; aqua rosarum, |j. M. Sig. Apply freely with a brush, eight or ten times a day, to the itching parts. In Scabies Balsam of Peru may be used alone, or in combination with other remedies, as in the following formula recommended by J. C. White, of Boston : B. Bals. Peru, ; fior. sulphuris, gij ; naphtollis, 3j ; vaselin, gj. M. In the form of one-half drachm to an ounce of cosraoline, balsarh of Peru forms an admirable base when it is desired to use iodoform in the shape of an ointment. Diseases of the Nose and Throat.—Balsam of Peru is used by Ebstein as a local application in Atrophic Rhinitis. Cotton tampons are soaked with it and carried in the nasal chambers. A pigment of eighty grains of the balsam to an ounce of ether is used by M. Mackenzie in Tonsillar Diphtheria. It has a remarkably efficacious effect when used as an inhalation in laryngeal phthisis (^Jouvncil of Lcifyngology and Rhinology, 1887.) Schmidt (^Ibid., p. 162) recommends steam inhalations containing 20-30 drops of the following mixture to a pint of hot water:—Balsam of Peru, 10 grms; alcohol, 5 grms. It may be applied locally to the ulcerative stage of the disease just named. Mixed with elastic collodion, it may protect tubercular ulceration of all parts of the tongue and adjacent parts. (Schnitzler, Congres de Laryngologie, Paris, Sept., 1889.) It may be variously combined with astringents. Rosenberger (^Therap. Monatschrift, p. 10, 1888), recommends it in white patches (Idiopathic Leucoplasia) of the oral cavity. He finds it anesthetic, and calculated to restore the diseased tissues to their normal condition. The balsam, which must be pure, is laid thickly on the affected parts with a camel's hair brush. It sometimes gives rise to slight burning with increased salivation, but must be retained in the mouth three to five minutes, and should be repeated several times daily. Thirteen cases treated thus resulted favorably, or at least im- proved greatly. Balsam of Peru forms the main ingredient of the so-called Mistura Oleo-Bals arnica, as per ensuing formula: B. Oil of lavender, oil of cloves, oil of cinnamon or cassia, oil of thyme, oil of lemon, oil of