CUTANEOUS DISORDERS.—It is claimed that pitting in small-pox may be pre vented by puncturing the vesicles, on the fourth or fifth day, with a needle dipped into a 4-per-cent. solution of nitrate of silver. Others paint the skin with a t or 2-per-cent. solution, and claim that it is equally effective. Shoemaker suggests the use of the mitigated stick.
John Higginbottom urges the use of silver-nitrate solution (160 grains to the ounce) in the treatment of erysipelas. The part is well washed with soap and water, then with pure water, and finally wiped dry with a soft towel. The solu tion is then to be applied two or three times on the inflamed surface and beyond it, on the healthy skin, to the extent of two or three inches. Others suggest outlining the affected patch with a broad line to limit the spread of the disease.
Nitrate of silver is used to destroy parasitic fungi, to cause exfoliation, or for a stimulant effect. As a caustic it is inferior to several other caustics. It has been found useful in some forms of eczema (chronic forms and circumscribed patches) and in relieving the itching of prurigo and lichen. Pruritus pudendi vel ani et vulvie may be benefited by a 4- or 6-grain solution painted upon the parts two to four times daily.
The use of silver nitrate has been rec ommended in lupus, psoriasis, erythema, and ringworm.
DISORDERS.—In the treat ment of buboes Cordier reports excellent results from injections of a 2-per-cent. solution of silver nitrate in the early stage.
In orchitis and epididymitis a strong solution of the nitrate painted over the scrotum, in the early stages, will often relieve the pain and swelling.
Injections of nitrate-of-silver solutions are most useful in the later subacute stages, in the strength of grain to 3 ounces. Strong solutions used early have been advised for the purpose of aborting the disease; such use is not to be commended or indorsed.
GYx COLOGY.—In uterine ulceration and in those cases of leucorrhcea where the cervix is boggy and tender, great benefit follows the application of the solid stick within the cervix uteri. This use is often followed by headache about the vertex, and this is, in turn, relieved by 10-grain doses of the bromides. Ni trate-of-silver solutions were used very extensively for erosions of the cervix, but other remedies have supplanted them. Vomiting of pregnancy is often relieved by brushing the cervix over with a 60 grain solution of the nitrate.