Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume I Part 135

_Uses._ The above are applied to painful swellings, piles, and ulcers, and in chronic ophthalmia, &c.

=Cerate, Phosphora'ted.= _Syn._ CERA'TUM PHOSPHO'RI, C. PHOSPHORA'TUM, L.

_Prep._ 1. Phosphorus, 6 gr.; simple cerate, 3 oz.; heat together in a phial placed in a water bath, with frequent agitation for 2 hours; and after repose for 10 minutes, pour off the clear portion, and stir it well until cold.

2. (Foy.) Phosphorated ether, 5 parts; simple cerate, 24 parts.--_Uses._ Both of the above have been recommended as frictions in obstinate cutaneous affections, and in rheumatism of the joints.

=Cerate, Pitch.= _Syn._ CERATUM PI'CIS BERGUNDI'Cae, L. _Prep._ (Beral.) White wax, 3 parts; suet, 4 parts; Bergundy pitch, 6 parts; melted together. A mild stimulant and detergent dressing. See OINTMENTS.

=Cerate, Quin'ine.= _Syn._ CERA'TUM QUINIae, L. _Prep._ 1. Sulphate of quinine, 5 or 6 gr.; simple cerate, 1 dr. Applied to the denuded dermis (endermically).

2. Sulphate of quinine and olive oil, of each 1 dr.; simple cerate, 6 dr.

As a friction. Both are used in intermittents.

=Cerate, Res'in.= _Syn._ BASIL'ICON, B. CERATE, B. OINTMENT, YELLOW B., CIT'RINE CERATE; CERA'TUM CITRI'NUM (Ph. L. 1788), C. RESI'Nae FLA'Vae (Ph.

L. 1745), C. RESI'Nae (Ph. L. 1809 and since), L. _Prep._ 1. (Ph. L.) Yellow resin and beeswax, of each 15 oz.; melt, add olive oil, 1 pint; strain through a cloth, and stir the mixture until cold.

_Obs._ The above is the formula of the London College, but the basilicon of the shops is seldom, if ever, made in this manner. The following forms are those commonly used in trade, but the products are much inferior to that made according to the directions in the Pharmacopia.

2. (Commercial.)--_a._ Yellow resin, 10 lbs.; beeswax, 2 lbs.; linseed oil, 7 lbs.; melt together, and stir until cold.

_b._ As the last, but using nut oil instead of linseed oil.

_c._ Nut oil, 1 gall.; beeswax, 5 lbs.; yellow resin, 14 lbs.

_d._ Lard (common) and linseed oil, of each 3 lbs.; yellow resin, 9 lbs.; as before.

_Uses, &c._ This cerate is a mild stimulant, detergent, and digestive application; and as such is employed to dress foul and indolent ulcers, blistered surfaces, burns, &c. For the corresponding preparations of the other colleges, see OINTMENTS.

3. (Compound; DESH'LER'S CERATE; CERA'TUM RESI'Nae COMPOS'ITUM, L.) _Prep._ (Ph. U. S.) Resin, suet, and beeswax, of each 1 lb.; turpentine, 1/2 lb.; flax-seed oil (linseed oil), 1/2 pint; as above. Rather more stimulating than resin cerate, but used for the same purposes.

=Cerate, Rose.= _Syn._ LIP SALVE; CERA'TUM ROSA'TUM, L. _Prep._ (P. C.) Oil of almonds, 16 parts; white wax, 8 parts; alkanet root, 1 part; digest, with a gentle heat, until sufficiently coloured, then strain, and for every ounce of the cerate, add otto of roses, 2 drops. See LIP SALVE.

=Cerate, Sav'ine.= _Syn._ CERA'TUM SABI'Nae (Ph. E.; and Ph. L. 1836), L.

_Prep._ 1. (Ph. E.) Beeswax, 1 part; lard, 4 parts; fresh savin (leaves bruised), 2 parts; boil together until the leaves become crisp, then strain, with pressure, through a linen cloth.

2. (Ph. L. 1836.) Lard, 2 lbs.; savin leaves, 1 lb.; beeswax, 1/2 lb.; as last.

3. (Ph. L. 1851.) In the B. P. this preparation is included among the OINTMENTS (which _see_); in trade, however, the old name (Ph. L. 1836) is still generally retained.

_Obs._ The preparation of this cerate requires caution, as the active principle of the savin, being volatile, is injured by long boiling and a high temperature. The leaves are usually boiled until they are crisp, but as this takes some time, the essential oil, and consequently the odour, is nearly all dissipated. A better plan is to express the juice from the leaves, and to add it to the wax and oil melted together, and just beginning to cool. As usually met with in the shops, this cerate has a lively green colour, and the odour of the fresh plant; but neither of these is derived from the leaves in the common process of making it. The first is caused by the addition of powdered verdigris, and the last by adding a little of the essential oil of savin to the compound when nearly cold. The preparations of the British Colleges have only a very pale green colour, and even that rapidly changes by exposure to the air. A uniform green colour may therefore be regarded as a proof of adulteration; as the unadulterated compound, however, skilfully prepared, is of a dingy green colour, of little intensity; and after it has been made a short time, it fades on the surface, and the under portion becomes streaky and mottled. A greater quant.i.ty of colour is obtained from the leaves by long digestion in the fat and wax in earthen vessels, at a moderate heat, than by hasty boiling. In this way a lively green is sometimes produced, but it rapidly changes in the manner just mentioned.

The following forms are those commonly adopted by the wholesale druggists for the manufacture of this cerate:--

4. Lard and suet, of each 6 lbs.; yellow wax, 2 lbs.; melt them together in an earthen vessel; add 2 oz. of distilled verdigris (previously rubbed down smooth in a mortar with an equal weight of sweet oil); strain, whilst hot, into a large earthen pot, and when the whole has cooled a little, add of oil of savin, 1 oz., and stir until cold.

5. Savin leaves, 4 lbs.; yellow wax, 2 lbs.; lard, 8 lbs.; boil until the leaves become crisp; then strain, and add, of green ointment (lively coloured), 5 lbs.; when cooled a little, further add, of oil of savin, 3 dr., and stir briskly until cold. _Prod._, 13-1/2 lbs.

_Uses, &c._ Savin cerate and ointment are chiefly employed to keep up the discharge from blisters (perpetual blisters), for which purpose it is preferable to preparations of cantharides. The practice of colouring this cerate with verdigris, which is general in trade, cannot be too severely censured, as its therapeutic action is thereby altered. The copper may be detected by burning down a little in a platinum or Hessian crucible, washing out the ashes with a little dilute nitric acid, placing the liquor in a gla.s.s tube, and applying the usual tests. See COPPER and OINTMENTS.

=Cerate, Sim'ple.= _Syn._ CERA'TUM SIM'PLEX, L. _Prep._ 1. (Ph. E.) Spermaceti, 1 part; white wax, 3 parts; olive oil, 6 parts; melt by a gentle heat, and stir until cold. This preparation is similar to SIMPLE OINTMENT (_Unguentum Simplex_), B. P. (which _see_).

=Cerate of Snails.= White wax, 3 parts; spermaceti, 3 parts; oil of almonds, 32 parts; mucilage of snails, 24 parts; otto of rose, sufficient to scent it.

=Cerate, Soap.= _Syn._ COMPOUND SOAP CERATE; CERA'TUM SAPO'NIS (Ph. L.

1836), C. SAPONIS COMPOS'ITUM (Ph. L. 1851), L. _Prep._ 1. (Ph. L.) Boil litharge, 15 oz., in distilled vinegar, 1 gall., until dissolved, stirring continually; then add of Castile soap, 10 oz.; again boil until all the moisture is evaporated; then add, gradually, beeswax, 12-1/2 oz., and olive oil, 1 pint, previously melted together, and stir until nearly cold.

Similar to SOAP CERATE PLASTER (_Emplastrum Cerati Saponis_), B. P. (which _see_).

2. (Wholesale.) Distilled vinegar, 6 galls.; litharge, 5 lbs.; soap, 3-3/4 lbs.; yellow wax, 4-1/2 lbs.; olive oil, 6 pints. Mix as above. Good nut or poppy oil may be used instead of olive oil.

_Obs._ Unless the instructions contained in the above formulae are followed in every particular, the process is apt to miscarry. When this is the case, the cerate, on cooling, separates into two portions, and is commonly full of hard, gritty particles. To prevent this, care should be taken to use soap of the best quality. This mishap cannot be got over by long boiling and stirring, as is generally supposed. The only remedy is the addition of a little more soap, previously melted with some water, and again evaporating to a proper consistence. A small quant.i.ty of solution of pota.s.sa has a similar effect.

The colour and consistence of soap cerate chiefly depends on the length of time it is kept heated after the addition of the oil and wax. As evaporation proceeds, so the colour and consistence increase. Its usual colour is that of a lively, pale chocolate-brown, but occasionally it is much paler. This arises from its containing an undue quant.i.ty of moisture.

When it has been kept heated for a period beyond that usually adopted, it attains greater hardness, and is then frequently called hard soap cerate (CERA'TUM SAPONIS DURUM); but by over-boiling it is apt to become gritty.

_Uses, &c._ Soap cerate is resolvent, cooling, and desiccative, and is chiefly employed as a cooling dressing for scrofulous swellings, &c. It may be spread on linen and applied like a plaster. It is sometimes used as a support for fractured limbs, and forms an excellent dressing for soft corns.

=Cerate, Spermace'ti.= _Syn._ WHITE CERATE, WHITE LIP SALVE, SIMPLE C.; CERATUM SIM'PLEX (Ph. E.), C. ALb.u.m (Ph. L. 1745), C. SPERMA'TIS CE'TI (Ph. L. 1788), C. CETA'CEI (Ph. L. 1809, and since), L. _Prep._ 1. (Ph.

L.) Spermaceti, 2 oz.; white wax, 8 oz.; melt by a gentle heat; add, olive oil (warm), 1 pint, and stir with a spatula until they cool.

2. (Ph. E.) See CERATE, SIMPLE.

3. (Ph. D.) The corresponding preparation of the Ph. D. is cla.s.sed under Ointments, and contains lard.

4. (Commercial.) On the large scale lard or suet is subst.i.tuted for oil, by which means less wax is required. The following is a good form where a cheap article is wanted, and is that commonly adopted in the wholesale trade:--

Clarified mutton suet, 5-1/2 lbs.; white wax and spermaceti, of each 3/4 lb.; as above.

_Obs._ The materials should be melted by a very gentle heat (that of a water bath is best) in a clean stoneware vessel, and as soon as perfect liquefaction takes place, the heat should be withdrawn, and the fluid cerate strained into a clean vessel, and stirred with a clean wooden spatula until it solidifies. To facilitate the cooling, the vessel may be placed in cold water or in a current of cold air. In this way the product is rendered both whiter and finer than when the liquid ma.s.s is allowed to cool by itself. By adding a little flowers of benzoin with the oil, or a little nitric ether when the cerate is about half cold, this, as well as other like preparations, will keep for years without becoming rancid or suffering any material change of condition.

_Uses, &c._ Emollient and cooling. It is commonly employed as a soft, cooling dressing, as a lip salve, as an application to chaps, chilblains, &c.

=Cerate, Sul'phur.= _Syn._ CERA'TUM SULPHU'RIS, C. SULPHURA'TUM, L.

_Prep._ (P. C.) Washed sulphur, 2 parts; cerate of Galen, 7 parts; almond oil, 1 part; mix. In itch, &c.

=Cerate, Sul'phide of Mer'cury.= _Prep._ (Swediaur.) Yellow resin, 1/2 oz.; yellow wax and lard, of each 1/2 lb.; vermilion, 20 gr. As a dressing to unhealthy ulcers. See CERATE, CINNABAR.

=Cerate, Tobac'co.= _Prep._ Beeswax, 3 oz.; yellow resin, 1 oz.; olive oil, 6 oz.; tobacco juice, 4 oz.; mix and evaporate to dryness, and when nearly cold, add bergamot, 2 dr. Used to destroy pediculi, &c.

=Cerate, Touch.= _Syn._ CERA'TUM PRO TEC'TU, L.; CERAT POUR LE TOUCHER, Fr. _Prep._ (Soubeiran.) Spermaceti and yellow wax, of each 1 part; olive oil, 16 parts; melt, add caustic soda, 1 part, and stir until cold. Used in hospitals for practising the touching in accouchements.

=Cerate, Turner's.= See CERATE, CALAMINE.

=Cerate, Ver'digris.= _Syn._ CERA'TUM aeRU'GINIS, C. CU'PRI DIACETA'TIS, L.

_Prep._ 1. Resin cerate, 19 parts; verdigris (in fine powder), 1 part.

2. (For. Ph.) Wax and resin, of each 6 parts; Venice turpentine, 5 parts; linseed oil, 2 parts; verdigris, 1 part. Used as a mild escharotic and stimulant to fungous ulcers, warts, corns, &c.

=Cerate, White.= See CERATE, SPERMACETI.