Creasote-calcium chlorohydrophosphate forms a white, syrupy mass, but presents no advantages over creasote.
Creasote oleate, or oleocreasote, also known as creasote-oleic ether, is obtained as a yellowish, oily liquid of a specific g,ravity of 0.950 at 59° F., soluble in ether, chloroform, and benzene; conse quently it ean only be administered in emulsion.
Creasote valerianate possesses about the same value--at higher market-price--as creasote carbonate, but is supposed to combine also the effect of valerianic acid, though this must necessarily be uni versal.
Creasol is obtained by heating beech wood creasote with tannic acid and phos phorus oxychloride. It is a dark-brown, very hygroscopic powder, with creasote odor and taste, soluble in water, alcohol, glycerin, and acetone; and insoluble in ether. It is held to be astringent and antiseptic.
Cresol, which is merely an antiseptic for external use, differs from creasol in that it is a yellow, aromatic liquid pos sessed of a -vanilla-like odor.
Cresalol, paracreasalol, or paracresylic ether of salicylic acid, is a condensation of salicylic acid with paracresol, whereby is obtained a whitish, crystalline powder or white needles. It is insoluble in water, but freely soluble in alcohol and ether, and melts at about 39° or 40° F. It was introduced as a substitute for salol, but seems not to have received any g,reat con fidence on the part of the medical pro fession.
For "guaiacol" see GUAIACOL, VOL HI.
Creasotic, cresolic, or paracresotic acid —the paracresol of French authors—is a homologue of salicylic acid, and is ob tained in long, white, prismatic needles that are soluble in alcohol, ether, and chloroform. In minute doses it is employed as an antiseptic, in larger doses as an antipyretic. The maxi mum dose during twenty-four hours is 60 grains.
Creasolinic acid, also known as oxy tolutic or homosalicylic acid, is the same as the foregoing; is also obtained as an ortho-, meta-, or para- modification; hence is frequently designated in the plural as "creasotic acids." The para compound only finds place in medicine, but its place for the most part is usurped by its sodimn salt.
Creasote is largely administered in pillular form, which, however, is ob jectionable for two reasons: First, no suitable excipient is known. Second,
creasote pills are variable in strength and by no means stable, besides being nauseous.
In prescribing ereasote it must be borne in mind that the ordinary com mercial article is derived from pine, and unfit to be employed medicinally, except, perhaps, topically. Medicinal creasote is always understood to be the beech-wood product.
Undoubtedly the best method of ad ministration is in some fluid—in liver-oil, in emulsion, in elixir, or as com bination of the elixir and codliver-oil.
An emulsion may be prepared by mak ing two solutions—one equal parts of alcohol and creasote, the other equal parts of water and saccharate of casein —and shaking together. This should then be diluted with water, in the pro portion of 1 quart to 10 drachms of the emulsion. The dose is 1 drachm mixed with milk or from 3 to 4 ounces admin istered by enema. IAger (I2Union Pharm., July 15, '93).
A pala,table mixture is the following: Creasote and glacial acetic acid, of each, 15 minims; spirit of juniper, 30 minims; syrup, 1 ounce; distilled water, 15 ounces. The dose is to 2 ounces. Whitla ("Pharm., Mat. Med., and Tberap.," '92).
it has been proposed to administer creasote in "enteric coated" pill,—i.e., a pill that will only dissolve in intestinal fluids; but such pill coating is theoret ical only, and all those that have been exploited have proved failures. They are based upon the assumption that the normal intestinal secretions are invari ably acid, which is far from being true; indeed, the opposite is the fact. Hypodermic Use.—Formerly creasote was employed subcutaneously only when added to other remedies to preserve the solution. An old formula was 10 grains of morphine in 60 minims of creasote, of which the dose was 6 minims, but its injection was extremely painful and duced an elevation of the skin resulting in a yellow pustule which, though it sided on the second day; was succeeded by sloughing, redness, infiltration, and thickening. Only sciatica could justify this measure. But, when the drug began to be employed for phthisis, the follow ing found favor among Frencli practi tioners:— 4 Dried pepsin, 20 grains.