White vaseline, one-half pound.
Paraffin, one-half pound.
Melt together.
This should be sterilized by having the mixture stand in a covered
container in a vessel of water which is also covered and the water
should be kept boiling for a half hour.
Containers for sterilized compounds.
With the paraffin may be boiled a number of test tubes. These after
boiling one-half hour may be lifted from the boiling water with
forceps. As they will be quite hot if they are held with opening
downward the water will drain from them and their own heat will
evaporate the few drops in the interior and they will be left dry.
Into each test tube sufficient paraffin may be poured to fill a
syringe and then they should be plugged with sterile cotton or corks
which have been boiled. The test tubes containing the paraffin
mixture may then be put away and when taken out at a later time for
filling the syringe the paraffin may be melted by heat and poured into
the sterile syringe or the paraffin may be boiled by holding the test
tube over a Bunsen burner, or other heater. When paraffin boils the
temperature of the boiling mixture is higher than that of boiling
water but the boiling causes dense black smoke to be given off and
this is objectionable in a closed room. Repeated boiling of paraffin
causes it to discolor but this does not occur when the vessel
containing the paraffin is placed in a water bath and the water around
the paraffin container boiled. No smoking of the paraffin occurs when
it is heated in a water bath and this means of sterilization is the
most satisfactory though the first time the paraffin is sterilized it
should be kept in the boiling water for a half hour.
A softer mixture of paraffin, which may be used when in fear of the
effects of the injection of the harder mixture, is made as follows: