SALIVATION, or PTYALtsm.(from the Gr. vtgaton,the saliva), is the term employed to desi:mate an abnormally abundant flow of saliva. It most commonly ;irises from a :pa cific form of inflammation of the parotid glands, induced by the action of mercury, in widch ease it is termed mercurial salivation; but it occasionally arises from the action of other drugs, especially iodide of potassium ; and sometimes it occurs without any apparent cause, in Wille.1 it is Said to he idioptithk, Or spontaneous.
Mercury, in some form or other. is so common an ingadient in the quack medicines whose advertisements are 1111fortuuntely allowed to occupy a large space in many of our newsp ]pens (especially in those medicines which are falsely stated to be of purelytegelalde origin), that a popular knowledgs! of the most remarkable manifestations of this powerful mineral should be as widely diffused as possible. When this medicine is given in such a way as to exci!e salivation, a metallic taste in the mouth is soon recognized by the patient, and a remarkable but indescribable smell. known as the mercurial fetor. may be detected in ltis breath; the gums become swollen and spongy at their edges, and usually present a few slight ulcers; and an increased flow of saliva takes place, accom paniell by pain in the teeth on pressure. If these symptoms he not checked (and a fortiori if more mercury be given). the tongue, cheeks, and throat swell and ulcerate. and the saliva that flows away nmonuts to several pints in the course of the day. This peculiar action of mercury varies extremely in different persons. Dr. Watson, in his 14t1] lecture, records several remarkable cases in which a single small dose of mercury produced the severest salivation. Cases of the opposite kind, in which no impression on the gums or still ary glands can be made by the freest use of mercury, are by no means uncommon. It is worthy of notice that salivation is rarely produced in children below the age of ten years. Until a comparatively recent period, profuse salivation was deemed the only certain indication that the system was duly tinder the influence of mercury (and, indeed, it was believed that the cause of the disease was carried out of the body with the saliva); but now it, is well known that. all that is requisite is, that the gums should become oils
tinetly tender, and that the mercurial fetor should be unmistakably present, and that those symptoms should be kept up for a certain lime. Unfortunately, however. the physician cannot always stop the action of the mercury at that definite stage. and saliva tion to a distressing extent often occurs, even when the greatest care has been taken in the administration of the medicine. To check this excessive salivation. the internal administration of chlorate of potash in scruple doses, three times a day. together with the frequent use of a gargle of the same salt, has been recommended by several 'digit authorities. Dr. Watson strongly advocates the use of a gargle composed of one part of brandy to flanr or five of water, and the application of moistened tannin to the gun's; and when there is much external swelling, he applies eight or ten leeches beneath the edges of the jaw-bones; followed by the application of a soft hot poultice to the neck. edges is worthy of notice that, in the confluent form of small-pox. there is almost always more or less abundant salivation, which lasts for several days; and if it cease abruptly, the peril is usually great. Moreover, there is a more or less marked tendency to saliva tion in scurvy, hysteria, hydrophobia, some forms of mania, and not unfrequently in pregnancy.
Various cases of spontaneous salivation have been collected by Watson in his 44th lecture. In one instance of a girl ten years old, under his own care, no less than three pints of saliva were excreted in twelve hours. Medicine had no effect; but the salivation finally ceased spontaneously after a severe attack of influenza. In these cases. astringent washes, as a solution of alum, or the infusion of catechu. or a few drops of creosote suspended by mucilage in water, are deserving of trial.