Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume I Part 129

=CAT'APLASMS.= See POULTICES.

=CAT'ARACT.= An opaque condition of the lens of the eye. It is a common cause of blindness. It can only be cured by a surgical operation.

=CATARRH'.= _Syn._ CATARRH'US, L. The "cold in the head," or "cold on the chest," of domestic medicine. Influenza is a severer form of this complaint, and has been called epidemic catarrh.

The common symptoms of catarrh are a copious discharge from the eyes and nose, a hoa.r.s.eness, and generally a cough, more or less severe. The exciting causes are sudden changes of temperature and exposure to currents of cold air while the body is heated; hence the frequency of colds in hot and changeable weather.

_Treat._ A light diet should be adopted, and animal food and fermented and spirituous liquors should be particularly avoided. Some mild aperient should be administered; and when the symptoms are severe, or fever or headache is present, small diaph.o.r.etic doses of antimonials, accompanied by copious draughts of diluents, as barley water, weak tea, or gruel should be taken. This treatment, except in very bad cases, will generally effect a cure.

In HORSES catarrh is caused by sudden changes of temperature, draughts, and faulty ventilation. Let the animal have plenty of cool fresh air, the body being kept warm by means of horse-cloths and bandages. If necessary, give a mild physic-ball, or a clyster; keep it on a soft, laxative diet, and give it an ounce of nitre daily. Should there be sore throat or troublesome cough apply a mild blister of cantharides or mustard.

The following will be found a serviceable mixture:--Mendererus spirit, 1-1/2 oz.; sweet spirit of nitre, 2 drachms; syrup of sugar, 1/2 oz.; camphor mixture, enough to make a 6-oz. mixture. An adult may take two table-spoonfuls of this mixture every 3 or 4 hours. Should the cold in the head be severe and accompanied with cough, it has been recommended to inhale the vapour of pure washed ether by drawing it alternately into the nostrils from a wide-mouthed bottle holding about an ounce, and clutching it in the warm hand until about a fourth of the ounce has been volatilised. This repeated two, three, or four times in 48 hours is said to effect a cure within that time. Persons liable to colds are advised to use the cold bath.

_Dr Ferrier's Remedy for a Cold in the Head._--Hydrochlorate of morphia, 2 gr.; powdered gum Arabic, 2 drachms; subnitrate of bis.m.u.th, 6 drachms.

Mix. Let a very small quant.i.ty be sniffed up the nose every five minutes for 20 or 30 minutes.

Another remedy: Carbolic acid, 10 drops; tincture iodine; chloroform, of each 7-1/2 grams. Place a few drops in a test-tube, and heat cautiously over a spirit-lamp, and when it boils remove, and inhale by the nose.

Repeat after a few minutes. Two inhalations are said to be sufficient to cure a cold in the head. ('Year-book of Pharmacy.')

=CAT'ECHIN.= _Syn._ CATECHU'IC ACID, RESINOUS TAN'NIN. When cubical gambir or catechu, in powder, is treated with cold water, a portion remains undissolved. This is catechin. By repeated solutions in alcohol it may be obtained under the form of white, silky, acicular crystals.

_Prop., &c._ Catechin strikes a green colour with the salts of iron, but does not precipitate gelatin. When dissolved in caustic pota.s.sa, and the solution exposed to the air, it absorbs oxygen, and j.a.ponic acid is formed. If, instead of caustic pota.s.sa, carbonate of pota.s.sa is employed, it is converted into rutic acid.

=CAT'ECHU.= _Syn._ CAS"HEW, CUTCH, GAM'BIR; CAT'ECHU (Ph. L. E. & D.), TER'RA j.a.pON'ICA, L.; CACHOU, Fr. "The extract from the wood of _Acacia Catechu_, or from the leaf of _Uncaria Gambir_." (PALE CATECHU, Catechu Pallidum, B. P.) Also of the "kernels of _areca catechu_; probably, too, from other plants." (Ph. E.) The term is now applied to several extracts similar in appearance and properties to that of _Acacia Catechu_.

There are several varieties of catechu known in commerce, of which the princ.i.p.al are--

CATECHU, BOMBAY. Firm, brittle, dark brown, of a uniform texture, and a glossy, semi-resinous, and uneven fracture, Sp. gr. 139. Richness in tannin, 52%.

CATECHU, BENGAL. Rusty brown colour externally; porous, and more friable than the preceding. Sp. gr. 128. Richness in tannin, 495%.

CATECHU, MALABAR. Resembles the last in appearance, but is more brittle and gritty. Sp. gr. 140. Richness in tannin, 455%.

Of the above varieties the first is the one generally employed in medicine, and which commonly pa.s.ses by the name of catechu. The second popularly pa.s.ses under the name of _terra j.a.ponica_ (j.a.pan earth), from the old belief that it was of mineral origin.

CATECHU, PALE, is prepared at Singapore and in the Eastern Archipelago. It generally occurs in cubical reddish-brown pieces, porous, bitter, and astringent in taste. Entirely soluble in boiling water; the solution, when cold, is not rendered blue by iodine. Of 100 parts, only 60 are dissolved by cold water, and the solution is bright. Thirty parts of isingla.s.s precipitate the whole of the astringent matter.--_Test._ Sp. gr. 139.

"The pale catechu being already in the Edin., the B. P. 1864 retained it with the black; but the black is the one adopted by all other pharmacopias, and is preferred in the arts and manufactures; it is well known to be far superior to the pale in astringency, and is always to be had of good quality; it is therefore a matter of surprise and regret that it has been rejected from the 'British Pharmacopia.'" (Squire.)

_Estim._ It is often of importance to the tanner and dyer to determine the richness of this article in tannic acid or tannin. The following are two simple methods:--

1. Exhaust a weighed sample (in powder) with ether, and evaporate by the heat of a hot-water bath. The product, which is the tannin, must then be accurately weighed.

2. Dissolve the sample (in powder) in hot water, let it cool out of contact with the air, filter, and add a solution of gelatin as long as a precipitate falls. The precipitate, after being washed and dried at a steam heat, contains 40% of tannin.

_Uses, &c._ Catechu is extensively employed in medicine, both internally and externally, as an astringent. It is used to flavour British brandy, and by the tanners as a subst.i.tute for oak bark. With it the dyer produces, inexpensively, many of his most pleasing browns. Alum mordants are mostly employed in dyeing with catechu. "The salts of copper with sal-ammoniac cause it to give a BRONZE COLOUR, which is very fast; the protochloride of tin, a BROWNISH YELLOW; the perchloride of tin, with the addition of nitrate of copper, a DEEP-BRONZE HUE; acetate of alumina, alone, a REDDISH BROWN, and with nitrate of copper, a REDDISH-OLIVE GREY; nitrate of iron, a DARK-BROWN GREY. For dyeing a GOLDEN COFFEE-BROWN, it has entirely superseded madder; 1 lb. of it being equivalent to 6 lbs. of this root." (Ure.)--_Dose_, 10 gr. to 30 gr. in solution, in water, or made into a bolus, or sucked as a lozenge.

=CAT'GUT.= The prepared and twisted intestines of animals. _Prep._ The guts, taken whilst warm from the animal, are thoroughly cleaned, freed from adherent fat, and well rinsed in pure water. They are next soaked for about 2 days in water, after which they are laid on a table and sc.r.a.ped with a copper plate, having a semicircular notch, beginning the operation at the smaller end. In this way the mucous and peritoneal membranes are removed. The guts are then put into fresh water, and soaked until the next day, when they are again sc.r.a.ped, the larger ends cut off, and after well washing, again steeped for a night in fresh water, and then for 2 or 3 hours in a weak lye of pearlash or potash (2 oz. to the gall.) They are lastly washed in clean water, and pa.s.sed through a polished hole in a piece of bra.s.s to smooth and equalise their surface; after which they are twisted, and sorted, according to the purposes for which they are intended. For many purposes the prepared gut is dyed or sulphured, and rubbed with olive oil. It improves by age. Red or black ink, or any of the simple dyes or stains, are used to colour it.

_Uses, &c._ Catgut is employed in several of the arts. The strings of harps, violins, &c., are formed of this material. Whipcord is made from catgut, which is sewed together while soft with the filandre or sc.r.a.pings, after which it is put into a frame and twisted. Bowstrings for hatmakers are made out of the largest intestines, 4 to 12 of which are twisted together, until the cord is extended to 15 to 25 feet in length. It is then rubbed perfectly smooth and free from knots, half dried, sulphured twice, again stretched and sulphured, and lastly dried in a state of tension. Clock-makers' cords are made of the smallest intestines in a similar manner.

The best fine catgut is made at Venice or Rome, from the intestines of thin, sinewy sheep. That made in England is formed from the fat sheep killed for the shamble, and is, hence, inferior. Coa.r.s.e catgut, for turning lathes, &c., is made from the intestines of horses, cut into 4 or 5 strips, by forcing a ball furnished with projecting knives placed cross-wise along them. These strips are next twisted, dried, and rubbed smooth with fish skin. Gutta percha and vulcanised india rubber are now applied to many of the purposes formerly exclusively occupied by catgut.

=CATHAR'TICS.= See PURGATIVES.

=CATHAR'TIN.= The purgative principle of senna, first noticed by La.s.saigne and Fenuelle. A strong aqueous infusion of senna leaves is evaporated to the consistence of a syrup, out of contact with the air; this fluid extract is then digested in alcohol or rectified spirit, and the tincture, after filtration, is evaporated to dryness by a gentle heat.

_Prop., &c._ A reddish-coloured, uncrystallisable ma.s.s; having a peculiar odour and a bitter, nauseous taste; freely soluble in both water and alcohol, and strongly cathartic. Two or three grs. cause nausea, griping, and purging. It has been proposed to employ it, combined with aromatics, as a cathartic.

=CATH'ETERS.= Small tubes introduced into the bladder for the purpose of drawing off its contents. They may be regarded as hollow bougies.

_Prep._ 1. A piece of smooth catgut, or steel wire, bent to the proper shape, is coated with melted wax. When cold it is dipped repeatedly into an ethereal solution of india rubber, until a sufficient thickness is obtained, after which it is dried by a gentle heat, and then boiled in water to melt out the wax, and to allow the catgut to be withdrawn. A solution of india rubber in bisulphide of carbon is now generally employed instead of an ethereal solution.

2. From slips of india rubber, as directed under BOUGIES.

3. A smooth tissue of silk is woven over a bent wire, and then coated with a surface of india rubber, or elastic varnish, and finished off as before.

See BOUGIES.

=CAUDLE.= Gruel enriched by various additions.

_Prep._ 1. Thick oatmeal gruel mixed with about one half its weight of good mild ale (made hot), and as much sugar, and mace, nutmeg, or ginger, as will make it agreeable.

2. To the last add an egg, well beaten.

3. Sugar, 3 or 4 lumps; hot water, a table-spoonful; dissolve; add 1 egg; beat well together; further add a gla.s.s of wine and a little nutmeg or ginger; mix well, and stir the mixture into good gruel (hot), 3/4 pint.

_Uses, &c._ A nourishing and restorative mixture during convalescence, much used among certain cla.s.ses after accouchement. It is an excellent domestic remedy for colds, &c., unaccompanied with fever; for which purpose it should be taken on retiring to rest at night, preceded by a dose of castor oil during the day.

=CAULIFLOWER.= Like the cabbage, the cauliflower forms a very nutritious article of diet; rich in alb.u.menoids and phosphates. The ash, as will be seen from the subjoined a.n.a.lysis, contains a large amount of mineral matter:--

_Ash of Cauliflower._

Potash 3439 Soda 1479 Magnesia 238 Lime 296 Phosphoric acid 2584 Sulphuric acid 1116 Silica 192 Phosphate of iron 367 Chloride of sodium 278

=CAUS'TIC.= _Syn._ CAUS'TIc.u.m, ESCHAROT'I-c.u.m, L. A substance that corrodes or destroys the texture of organised bodies. This action is popularly termed "burning."

The princ.i.p.al caustics are nitrate of silver, caustic pota.s.sa, a mixture of caustic pota.s.sa and quick-lime, sulphate of copper, red oxide of mercury, verdigris, tincture of sesquichloride of iron, chloride of zinc, chloride of antimony, nitric acid, acetic acid, and carbolic acid.

_Use._ Caustics are employed to remove excrescences, morbid growths, granulations, &c., as corns, warts, and proud flesh; and to open issues, abscesses, &c. The first, second, and fourth are applied by gently rubbing them on the part previously moistened with water; the third is commonly made into a paste, with rectified spirit or glycerin, before application; red oxide of mercury and verdigris (in the form of powder) are often sprinkled over foul and indolent ulcers; whilst the acids and other liquid caustics are applied with a feather, camel-hair pencil, or gla.s.s rod. The same applies to the liquid preparations below. In all cases care should be taken to confine the application to the affected part.

=Caustic, Ammoni'acal.= See OINTMENTS, and CAUSTIC, GONDRET'S.

=Caustic, Antimo"nial.= _Syn._ CAUSTIc.u.m ANTIMONIA'LE, L. Chloride of antimony.

=Caustic, a.r.s.en'ical.= _Syn._ CAUSTIc.u.m a.r.s.eNICA'LE, C. a.r.s.eNIO'SUM, C. A.

COMPOS'ITUM, L. _Prep._ 1. See CAUSTIC, PLUNKET'S.

2. (Cutan. Hosp.) Calomel, 2-1/2 oz.; red sulphide of mercury, 1 dr.; a.r.s.enious acid, 1 dr. to 2 dr.