Iodoform

“ According to research, iodoform is a powerful antiseptic, from the fact that the product of its decomposition in the presence of germ life renders the ptomains in a wound inert, thus preventing suppuration, or at least checking the absorption of such, which is often a serious matter in infected wounds. It is not sterile, and may contain ptomains which in themselves would produce pus, but as associated with the iodoform do not occasion it. ”

“ Potassium Diiodo-paraphenol-sulphonate, Trommsdorff.—White, odorl., cryst. powd.; 52.8% of iodine; 20% of phenol; and 7% sulphur.—Sol. slightly in cold water; insol. in alcohol.—Antiseptic Vulnerary; Non-poisonous Succedaneum for Iodoform.—Uses: Extern., scabies, eczema, herpes tonsurans, impetigo, syphilitic ulcers, diphtheria, burns, and scalds; ozena, otitis, and rhinitis; injection for gonorrhea.—Applied in 10—25% oint's or dusting-powders, which are as effective as iodoform pure.—Incompatibles: Mineral acids, ferric chloride, silver salts. ”

“ After each application the part should be well smeared with an ointment of iodoform (thirty grains to the ounce) . The odor of the iodoform may be disguised by the addition of a few drops of otto of roses. ”

“ Being an unstable compound, it cannot be mixed with substances which have a tendency to combine with iodine, and so is best used alone. It is used as a substitute for iodoform, as a cicatrizant and mild antiseptic, in dressing wounds. ”

“ Iodizing (?) .] To treat or impregnate with iodine or its compounds; as, to iodize a plate for photography. R. Hunt.
I"o*di`zer (?) , n. One who, or that which, iodizes.
{ I"o*do- (?) , I"od- (?) . } (Chem.) A prefix, or combining from, indicating iodine as an ingredient; as, iodoform.
I*od"o*form (?) , n. [Iodo- + formyl. See Formyl, and cf. Chloroform.] (Chem.) A yellow, crystalline, volatile substance, CI3H, having an offensive odor and sweetish taste, and analogous to chloroform. It is used in medicine as a healing and antiseptic dressing for wounds and sores. ”

“ Iodine ointments are absorbed but slowly; mercurial plasters do good in some cases; iodide of potassium dissolved in glycerine (1:3-4) , frequently applied, iodine in oleic acid (1:8-12) , iodoform in collodion or flexible collodion (1:12-15) applied twice daily, the latter frequently with very good result, are beneficial. Copious suppuration is very rare. Cases in which a free incision meets with an abscess ready to heal are very uncommon. But numerous small abscesses with gangrenous walls and pus mixed with a sero-sanguinolent or sero-purulent liquid, are more frequently found. ”

“ Do we know any thing more of the action of a purgative? It is said to stimulate the larger or the smaller intestines, and iodine may be said to stimulate the absorbent vessels; and after we have said this, are we at all wiser than we were before? The only questions now before us, those which alone appear worthy of discussion, are, Do we in iodine possess a remedy for the diseases in which I have said it is useful? and if we do, on which of the living textures does it seem most particularly to exert its action? ”

“ I have not been able to find a cure for it, though I have often relieved it for a time by the use of medicine and nourishing diet. A medical friend has treated one case by the external application of iodine with some little benefit, but without effecting a cure. The patient, I hear, is now near death. He pronounces the complaint incurable. Men and women are alike subject to it; the cases I have met with have been persons in the prime of life. No post-mortem examination has been made in any case, so that little is known of the peculiar features of the disease, or its cause. ”

“ It contracts the pupil, and in no case have I seen it dilate it. [Pg 9] Its vapour rises very readily, and does not leave the yellow disagreeable colouring on the skin produced by the vapour of iodine when uncombined, which is a great drawback in the use of iodine in diseases of the eye.
The last medicine which I have employed is the bisulphuret of carbon, which is so volatile, that the application of it to the eye, when the bottle is held in a warm hand for a few seconds, is as much as can be borne, in consequence of the intense prickling heat and flow of tears which it occasions. ”

“ The symptoms include gastric disturbance, somnolence, coma, and the signs of iodism.
The only lesions are those of fatty degeneration of the kidneys and liver.
Treatment comprises the exhibition of vomitants, stimulants, and diuretics.
IODINE POISONING: IODISM. Death by iodine poisoning is absolutely exceptional: the complications described under the name of iodism are rather to be referred to saturation of the organism than to true poisoning.
The cause of iodism is unduly prolonged administration of iodide of potassium, or of iodine in solution. ”

“ In a circular distributed by the manufacturer, it is stated that “I. G. O. is a saturated solution of Iodine Gas in petrolatum at 130 degrees with oil of eucalyptus. The heat of the body liberates the iodine and it is absorbed as free iodine.”
A sample of I. G. O., received from a physician, was examined. It was found to be a black ointment, green in thin layers, with a slight odor like crude petroleum. By the methods used for the examination of Iodex, I. G. O. was found to contain 0.59 per cent. of free iodin.— (From Reports A. M. A. Chemical Laboratory, 1919, p. 104.) ”

“ Externally it is applied as an antiseptic, disinfectant, parasiticide, deodorant, stimulant, desquamatic, absorbent and counter-irritant. Iodine is one of the best antiseptics for surgical purposes. The tincture iodine especially kills all disease producing bacteria in one minute, whereas it takes a one in one thousandth solution of bichloride of mercury more than half an hour to destroy the same micro-organisms. The tincture of iodine also possesses unusual penetrating power on the dry skin, finding its way into the hair follicles and cutaneous glands. ”

“ This preparation can dissolve an additional dose of iodine; a formulary, however, to which I seldom, if ever, have recourse. I have found that the deleterious action of the medicine on the bowels was more marked, in proportion to the quantity of free iodine it contained. For this reason, also, I now seldom have recourse to the tincture, a form much used, because it is less expensive. Practitioners will, in general, find an advantage in confining themselves to the external use of iodine for the cure of bronchocele, and tumors, which do not arise from any vice in the constitution. ”

“ Iodine Merck.—U.S.P.—Resublimed.
Dose: 1/4—1 grn.—Preparations: Oint. (4%) ; Comp. Solut. (5%, with 10% KI) ; Tr. (7%) .—Antidotes: Emetics, stomach pump; starchy food in abundance.—Incompatibles: Oil turpentine, starch, tannin.
Iodipin.
Iodine addition-product of sesame oil.—Yellow fluid, of purely oleaginous taste; 10% iodine.—Alterative Tonic; carried even to remotest parts of body.—Uses: Syphilis, scrofula, etc.—Dose: 1—2 fl. drs., 3 or 4 t. daily, in emulsion with peppermint water and syrup; children in proportion.
Iodo-bromide of Calcium Comp. (Tilden's) . ”

“ Iodide of potassium.—Dose, five to ten grains in the later stages of syphilis.
* Iodine, tincture of.—Dose, two drops in a teaspoonful of water; given every hour, is most valuable for obstinate vomiting.
Used externally, it acts as a counter-irritant, and should not be painted on too freely as it may cause blistering. Does good if painted over swollen joints or enlarged glands, but should not be applied if the skin there is broken. Tincture of iodine may be painted on the chest or over the liver or spleen if there is pain. ”

“ In certain persons, indeed, of peculiar habits of body, it cannot be exhibited so as to affect the constitution in any manner, without in some shape or other producing unpleasant nervous symptoms, [Pg 14] such as dimness of vision, indistinct hearing, fallacious touch, insomnia, breathlessness, palpitation, and all the countless forms of inward nervous derangement. But the symptom to which we shall more peculiarly confine our attention, is a degree of tremor which generally comes on when the patient is under the full constitutional influence of iodine. ”

“ A great many experiments which I tried last autumn, for the express purpose of clearing up this point, have convinced me that, cæteris paribus, the addition of free iodine to the iodizing solution, tends to diminish the sensitiveness of the subsequently formed iodide of silver. On paper, this diminution of sensitiveness is attended with some advantages, so that at present I hardly know whether to introduce the free iodine or not; but in collodion, as far as my experience goes, I see no reason for retaining it; on the contrary, everything seems to be in favour of its removal. ”

“ Economical Way of Iodizing Paper.—The extravagant price of the salt called iodide of potassium has led me to experiments as to whether paper could not be iodized in another form; and having been successful, I offer the process to the readers of "N. & Q." Having verified it three times, I can safely say that it is quite as effectual as using the above salt.
The first solution to be made, is a saturated solution of iodine. Put about sixty grains of iodine (the quantity is not of importance) into an ounce bottle, and add proof spirits of wine ”

“ When iodine acts kindly on the constitution, no other effect will be found to accompany its use, but a diminution of the tumor and a little nervous excitement, which is sometimes not so severe as to become disagreeable. The increase of appetite is a very frequent effect of iodine, and it is sometimes very troublesome, because it is extremely necessary not to indulge it. The diet of the patient should be good, but by no means full, which the occasional voraciousness of his appetite would lead him to adopt. ”

“ A magistrate of Geneva, high in office, robust, corpulent, and of an athletic form, was so much reduced in flesh, that he was not known by his oldest acquaintances. I have seen emaciation, in one case, proceed to such an extent in a short time as is almost incredible. A young English lady, at a boarding-school, at Paris, had for some time been afflicted with goitre. Her brother was prosecuting the study of medicine there. With the characteristic zeal of a young man, as soon as he heard of the wonderful effects of iodine, he determined on making trial of its powers on his sister. ”

“ Iodine has been used as iodide of potassium, and externally as tincture of iodine and iodine ointment. At the beginning of his studies in leprosy Dr. Danielssen had great confidence in iodine, but he soon learned what a very dangerous remedy it was in this disease. Even small doses of iodine produce new eruptions of leprous tubers or patches, and Dr. Danielssen therefore ultimately used it as a test in cases of apparent cure. When a patient was considered cured, he gave him iodide of potassium, and if no new eruption developed, the cure was considered complete. ”

“ In choosing an iodine ointment for this use, the veterinarian should select a preparation in which the iodine exists free and uncombined with other agents, in a vehicle that is blandly penetrating and non-irritating. I can highly recommend Iodex, as fulfilling exactly these requirements. It can be applied freely and indefinitely, and, even when the course of treatment is exceptionally prolonged, the parts to which it is being applied show no sign of being irritated. With other preparations, it is often necessary to discontinue the applications for a time because of the local irritating effect. ”

“ The paralytic symptoms continue to yield to the powerful influence of the iodine. When his meat is cut, he can now feed himself with the left hand;—can raise the right hand to the chin, and draw the right upper extremity up towards the body. He continues to hold his water. The iodine is increased to 30 drops, thrice a day—from this date to the 7th of May, the medicine was occasionally obliged to be intermitted and again commenced in smaller doses. At this period, however, the patient could walk from his bed room to the day ward with very little assistance. ”

“ Add 25 cc. of iodine solution from a pipette, allowing to drain for a definite time. The excess of iodine should be from 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the amount added, that is, from 100 per cent to 150 per cent of the amount absorbed. Moisten the stopper with a 15 per cent potassium iodide solution to prevent loss of iodine or chlorine but guard against an amount sufficient to run down inside the bottle. Let [Pg 180] the bottle stand in a dark place for 1/2 hr. at a uniform temperature. At the end of that time add 20 cc. of 15 per cent potassium iodide solution and 100 cc. ”

“ The affection of the alimentary canal which we have described above, is plainly to be ascribed to the acrid operation of iodine on its mucous membrane. I have never witnessed it in any considerable degree when this medicine had not been taken internally. But I have seen slight pains of stomach, accompanied with copious bilious evacuations, attend its external use. These never proceed to the degree of violence which marks the internal exhibition. Indeed, it is rare to see them in any considerable degree disturb the comfort of the patient. It is not thus when taken into the stomach. ”

“ Regional Iodine Applications for the Cure of Chronic Pathological Conditions.
It is in the correction of chronic pathological conditions, that iodine therapy finds its greatest field in the practice of veterinary medicine and surgery. It is in chronic pathological conditions, that iodine, in various forms, and with various modes of application, so forcibly demonstrates its therapeutic work, for it is here that iodine is often the only agent used in the [Pg 28] handling of the case, thus constituting the entire treatment. ”