Under this head may be comprehended the various medicinal preparations
which are employed as local applications;—to the urethra for the cure of
gonorrhæa, and to the vagina for that of the different discharges to
which females are liable.
With respect to the former of these it has been truly observed, that
“among the whole class of remedies employed for surgical purposes, there
is scarcely one which has occasioned a greater diversity of opinion;” to
enter however into an examination of this subject would be entirely
foreign to the intention of the present work; it is only necessary to
state, that for their preparation the same principles of combination,
and the same chemical precautions, apply, as have been already
investigated under the head _Misturæ_. In some cases the practitioner
will find it useful to insure the entire solution of his active
ingredient; while in others, the presence of a precipitate may enhance
the efficacy of the application, as illustrated by _Form. 62_.
In the preparation of injections for the cure of female discharges, it
must be remembered that, if they be of a vegetable nature, their
efficacy wholly depends upon the _Tannin_ which they contain, and the
prescriber must therefore take care not to invalidate the force of this
principle by any incompatible additions.
And it deserves to be remembered, that as _Tannin_ has the power of
coagulating animal mucus, and of forming with it an insoluble
precipitate, its administration, as an injection, is liable to occasion
the evacuation of whitish or ash-coloured flakes, which will come away
from time to time, and excite in the patient’s mind, says Mr. Clarke,
the apprehension that she is voiding portions of the internal parts of
the body, unless her mind be prepared for the occurrence by a previous
explanation, and which the judicious practitioner will not neglect to
afford. In some cases it will be necessary to correct the irritating
effect of the astringent by the addition of a demulcent, as exemplified
in _Form. 61_. In applying this form of remedy an ivory syringe should
be always preferred to one of pewter, whenever the solution is likely to
be affected by the contact of a metal.