Intestinal antiseptics may also be given by the mouth with advantage. Creasote may be administered in emul sion, in milk, or in wine, in doses of from 1 to 5 minims every three hours, salol in doses of 5 grains, betanaphthol in doses of from 2 to 5 grains.
Salol is of considerable power in in testinal indigestion (pain, flatulence, and diarrhtea); 2-grain doses of salol every hour rapidly relieve the symptoms. Milk diet is the best for those suffering from excessive intestinal pu trefaction,—prefer ably, however, mixed with some carbo hydrates and a little meat. Pease and beans, oatmeal, whole wheat, Indian meal, etc., must be excluded. Rice or farina may be allowed if well cooked. Eggs, if soft boiled, are well borne. A pure meat diet often brings relief from the symptoms, if persisted in for a few days. Fats, as a rule, do no harm. Physical overfatigue should be avoided. Herter and Smite (N. Y. Med. Jour., July 13, 20, '95).
Local or general antisepsis of the gastrointestinal tract by means of medicaments of the aromatic series (benzonaphthol, naphthol, naphthalin, salol) is in reality impossible. These substances do not necessarily break up in the alimentary canal, but they may accumulate or he eliminated without undergoing any decomposition. Bardet (Bull. et '..N.Fem. Soc. de Therap., Nov. 27, '95).
IN1onnet's saccharin No. 3, a saccharin ate of sodium, containing 90 per cent. of pure saccharin, given in doses of from 15 to 30 grains once daily about two hours before the principal meal, must take rank among the best intestinal antiseptics. Descheemaeker (Echo Med. do Nord, April 10, '95).
The best form in which to administer an intestinal astringent is one by which the astringent principle is slowly liber ated in the intestinal canal so as to avoid any irritant effect upon the stomach, and also to subject the lower intestinal tract to the influence of the remedy. Tannopin represents an efficient and reliable in testinal astringent, which, owing to its innocuousness, is well tolerated by the smallest children, and which, while an active astringent, is entirely free from irritating effects upon the intestinal canal. G. C. H. Meier (Boston Med. and Surg. Jour., Sept. 21, '99).
The salts of bismuth may also be em ployed, the subnitrate or the subcarbon ate in doses of from 10 to 30 grains; the salicylate or the subgallate in somewhat smaller doses.
Ulcerative colitis cured by means of Carlsbad salts, intestinal antiseptics, and bismuth. Anderson (Med. Review, June 23, '94).
A pill of silver oxide, grain, and extract of belladonna, grain, after each meal, often acts admirably.
Use of tannalbin in cases of acute and chronic intestinal catarrh, and also in tubercular diarrhoea, strongly advocated. Tannalbin is a brown, tasteless powder, containing about 50 per cent. of tannic acid. It is insoluble in the mouth and stomach, but on meeting with the alka line secretions of the intestines it is resolved into its original elements, tan nin and albumin.
The dose for children varies from 4 to S grains. Vierordt (Dent. med. Woch., No. 25, '96).
Ichthyol strongly recommended in intestinal disorders, particularly those which accompany affections of the genitourinary tract in women. The dosage is 4 or 5 grains a day, prefer ably in keratin-coated pills, which are believed to pass through the stomach undissolved. The medicine is best given some little time after meals. Good re sults obtained in cases of diarrhoea. The best results were in cases of rebellious constipation. Guintzburg (La M6d. Mod., May 13, '96).
Pill of 2 grains / of ichthyol every hour or two recommended in all severe cases of acute intestinal catarrh, also in all cases of chronic catarrh of the rectum and haemorrhoids in which there is a great tendency to tympanites with foul evacuations. This treatment is very efficacious. Lange (Allg. rued. Central Zeit., No. 3, '97).
Ichthalbin used in 2S cases of sub acute and chronic enteritis, in doses up to 2 drachms daily for a long time. It caused no constipation, and no symptoms of irritation of the intestines or kidneys were observed. Metabolism tests showed that it facilitated albumin intake and diminished the nitrogen elimination via the urine. Daily doses of 23 to 45 grains produced an excellent effect in simple chronic enteritis and in those showing peritonitis or tuberculosis. Rally (Merck's Archives, Aug., 1900).