The local use of the bichloride of mercury in diseases of the nose and throat / by John N. Mackenzie.

  • Mackenzie, John Noland, 1853-1925.
Date:
1883
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The local use of the bichloride of mercury in diseases of the nose and throat / by John N. Mackenzie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Case 4.—Syphilitic ozcena and mu- cous patches on the tonsils in a young negress—horrible foetor of the breath and from the nose removed entirely in one or two applications. Case 5.—Post-nasal catarrh (first stage) in a boy; treated for several weeks with carbolized alkaline spray iodoform, boracic acid, etc., without effect—decided improvement in a few days under the bichloride. So marked was the difference in effect produced by the two lines of treatment that the patient voluntarily requested that the bichloride be immediately substituted for the remedies which had been pre- viously employed. Encouraged by the success which followed its exhibition in the above cases, I began its use, to the exclusion of all other sprays at my clinic at the hospital and in my office, and so far have reason to be gratified with the result. At first I used a solution of two grains to the pint, but found that in one or two cases it produced a soreness of the nose and throat with slight epistaxis which lasted for some hours after its administration. The strength of the solution was accord- ingly diminished. The formula I usually employ is as follows : 3^ Hydrarg. bichlor., gr. ss. Aq. laur. ceras., 5i. Aq. q. s. ad 5viij. M. This may be increased in strength, according to circumstances. In the above dilution, the drug is perfectly innocuous as far as its effects on the general system are concerned. In using this solution in the nose, the patient should be directed to expel any mucus which perceptibly clogs the passage; when this is very thick and tenacious, or where crusts are present, these should be removed be- fore applying the remedy; the nose should then be thoroughly sprayed with the anterior, and the naso- pharynx with the retro-nasal tube. This should be done once daily until improvement takes place. In a stronger solution (grs. v—vj ad Oi) it acts as a destructive (corrosive) agent. In one patient, whose nostril was blocked by a posterior turbinated hypertrophy, I used the strong solution through the nares and in a few minutes afterward removed the redundant tissue with the ecraseur. The superficial layers of the mucous membrane were found completely destroyed by the corrosive action of the mercury. I would not, therefore, reccommend its use in this strength to those who are unable to watch its action with the rhinoscopic mirror. In some instances I have ex- hibited the bichloride internally (com- mencing with gr. 34) in conjunction with its local application in the nose, and I may add that I have found this preparation of mercury more gener- ally useful in catarrhal conditions of this region than the biniodide of the metal as recommended by some prac- titioners. As a disinfectant in ozcena and foetor of the breath from pharyngeal disease it surpasses any remedy I have yet experimented with. It will j often remove the odor which carbolic acid and other well-known agents have failed to dissipate. The only objection which its use as a mouth- wash involves is its disagreeable taste, j but this is fully compensated for by i the disappearance of the odor from the breath. In atrophic nasal catarrh it is an excellent palliative and seems to in- crease, and at the same time give a j healthier character to the secretion; I but I am unprepared to say whether ] it exerts any curative effect upon the I disease. In my own person, I succeeded in aborting an attack of acute coryza by spraying the nostrils several times with the bichloride solution. In chronic nasal catarrh its effects are also decided. At first there is an increase in the amount of secretion,