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.

    265/554 (page 253)
    GUAIACI RESINA—GUACO. GUAIACI RESINA. Guaiac. The resin of the wood of Guaiacum officinale^ (U. S. P.) The resin of guaiac comes in irregular vitreous masses of dark dlive color, and possesses an acrid taste. It is readily pulverizable and yields a light, clear powder which becomes green upon exposure. It is very sparingly soluble in water, soluble in alcohol, ether, and alkaline solutions; it is also soluble in sulphuric acid. It consists of guaiaconic acid, guaiaretic acid, guaiac beta-resin, gum. coloring matter, etc. The Tincture of Guaiac (one hundred parts con- taining the activity of twenty parts of the resin), and the Ammoniated Tincture (made with aromatic spirit of ammonia as menstruum) of the same strength, are official. Diseases of the Throat—Guaiac has long had a high reputation in the treatment of Follicular Tonsillitis and Quinsy. An addition of an astringent increases the efficacy of the drug, especially if it is essayed in the first stage of the disease. Used as a gargle the ammoniated tincture is the most palatable of the preparations. A teaspoonful of the tincture may be added to a half glassful of milk and used as a gargle every two or three hours. The exhibition of guaiac in the form of a lozenge has been long accepted by practitioners as desirable when the grade of inflammation is low. The following recipe from a Swedish formula is offered as a good example of a guaiacl ozenge : Pulverized resin of guaiac seven parts; sugar, seventeen parts ; cocoa paste, twenty-five parts. In the American market each lozenge may contain one and a half to two or three grains of the resin. GUACO. Guaco is a name given a product of various plants, obtained in Central America, South America, and the West Indies, belonging to the genera Mikania and Arisiolochia. (U. S. D.) Guaco is antipruritic. , Diseases of the Skin.—Butte (^Bull. de la Polycl. de Paris, 1890 ; Monatshefte f. Prakt Dermatol., Bd. xii, p. 188) has recommended the local employment of the watery extract of guaco as an antipruritic in Pruritus and Eczema. Its use is contraindicated in acute moist eczema, as it is irritating in this condition. The drug is also employed internally. Its effect is due to the paralyzing effect which the extract of the plant exerts upon sensory nerves. The following formula is recommended : B. Guaco, gr. XXX ; sodii bicarbonat., gr. v j aquae, gr. M. Boil for a quarter of an hour; then macerate for an hour and decant. This lotion is to be applied lukewarm as a wash or a compress may be wet with it. The same drug is commended for internal uses in skin diseases, but this remedy has been introduced so recently that no corroborative experi- ments have been as yet published.