Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume I Part 162

_Preven._ This consists in keeping the feet clean, by frequent ablution with warm water, and in the use of easy, soft boots and shoes. Without the latter precaution, corns will generally return, even after they appear to have been perfectly removed.

_Treatment._ After soaking the feet in warm water for a few minutes, pare the corns as close as possible with a sharp knife, taking care not to make them bleed. They may now be touched over with a little lunar caustic, or nitric acid, or a little concentrated acetic acid or aromatic vinegar. The last two do not stain the skin. The first is used by merely rubbing it on the corns, previously slightly moistened with water; the others, by moistening the corns with them, by means of a small strip of wood, or, preferably, a rod of gla.s.s; due care being taken not to allow the liquid to touch the neighbouring parts. This treatment, adopted every 3 or 4 days for 10 days or a fortnight, accompanied by the use of soft, loose shoes, will generally effect a cure. It has been recommended to remove large corns by ligatures of silk, applied as close to their base as possible, and tightened daily until they drop off; but this plan is tedious, and often inconvenient, and is not always successful. Another mode of extirpation is, the application of a small blister, which will frequently raise them with the skin out of their beds. In this case the exposed surface must be dressed with a little simple ointment. Soft corns may be removed by applying ivy leaf, previously soaked in strong vinegar changing the piece every morning; or by placing a dressing of soap cerate, spread on a bit of lint or old rag, between the toes. One of the simplest and best remedies for hard corns, and which has received the sanction of high medical authority, is to wear upon the toe or part affected a small, circular piece of soft leather, or, still better, a piece of amadou, spread with diachylon, or some other emollient plaster, and having a hole cut in the centre, corresponding to the size of the corn. (Sir B. Brodie.) By this means the pressure of the boot or shoe is equalised and the apex of the corn protected from injury. The following are among the most useful of the POPULAR REMEDIES FOR CORNS:--

=Corns, Caus'tic for.= _Prep._ From tincture of iodine and chloride of antimony, of each, 1 dr.; iodide of iron, 3 grs.; mix. It is applied with a camel-hair brush, after paring the corn. 2 to 4 applications are said to effect a cure.

_Obs._ Most of the remedies noticed below really act as caustics.

=Corns, Lo'tion for.= _Prep._ 1. A solution of sal-ammoniac, 1 part; in proof spirit, 4 parts.

2. A concentrated aqueous solution of sulphate of copper. To be applied night and morning.

=Corn Plasters.= _Prep._ 1. From white diachylon, 3 parts; yellow resin, 2 parts; verdigris, 1 part; melted together, and spread on leather.

2. From galbanum plaster, 1 oz.; verdigris, 1 dr.; as the last.

3. From resin plaster, 2 oz.; black pitch, 1 oz.; verdigris and sal-ammoniac, of each 1/2 dr.

4. To the last add powdered opium, 1 dr. Recommended to allay pain, &c.

5. (W. Cooley.) A piece of spread adhesive plaster is placed upon a table, and a piece of card paper having a round hole cut in it the size of the central portion of the corn is laid upon it; the exposed part is then softened by holding a piece of heated iron for a second or two near it; the card paper is then instantly removed, and nitrate of silver, in fine powder is sprinkled over the part which has been warmed. As soon as the whole is cold, the loose powder is shaken off, and the plaster is ready for use. Very cleanly and convenient. Two or three applications seldom fail to effect a cure.

6. (MECHANICAL CORN PLASTERS.) From common adhesive plaster spread on buckskin, amadou, or vulcanised india rubber, cut into pieces, and a circular hole corresponding to the size of the corn punched in each.

=Corn Sol'vent.= _Prep._ 1. Carbonate of pota.s.sa or pearlash, contained in an open jar or bottle, set in a damp place, until it deliquesces into an oil-like liquid (oil of tartar). Applied by means of a feather, or a small piece of rag dipped in it is bound on the corn.

2. Hydrate of pota.s.sa, 1 dr.; rectified spirit 1 oz.; dissolve. As No. 1.

3. Carbonate of pota.s.sa, with smalts, ochre, or bole, q. s. to give it the required colour. It must be kept dry, in a well-corked bottle. A pinch is placed on the corn, and confined by means of adhesive plaster or rag.

4. Carbonate of soda, 1 oz., finely powdered and mixed with lard, 1/2 oz.

Applied on linen rag every night.

5. (Sir H. Davy's.) Carbonate of pota.s.sa, 2 parts; salt of sorrel, 1 part; each in fine powder; mix, and place a small quant.i.ty on the corn for four or five successive nights, binding it on with a rag.

_Obs._ Care must be taken, in all cases, to pare the corn moderately close before applying the remedy; but in _no case should any of the above be applied to a raw surface_.

=Corns, Pomade' for.= _Prep._ 1. Powdered verdigris, 1 dr.; savine ointment, 7 dr.

2. Dried carbonate of soda, 3 dr.; lard, 5 dr.; verdigris or smalts, q. s.

to give a slight tinge of green or blue. Applied on a piece of rag.

_Treatment for Horses._--"Pare out carefully the seat of corn, removing all reddened and diseased horn; reduce the crust of the quarter slightly, where it is unduly strong, but leave the bars and frog untouched. They must be religiously preserved, especially in weak feet, to afford a wide bearing for the bar shoe that should afterwards be used. To soften the parts, apply, in bad cases, a poultice for a day or two, and a few drops of nitric acid, when the horn is dry and scurfy; keep the hoof soft with soft soap and lard, or any emollient dressing, and pare out the corn every fortnight. In horses subject to corns, shoe and pare out frequently; and along with leather pads, use a bar shoe made with a wide heel on the inside quarter, and nailed only on the outside, or with one nail toward the inside toe."[250]

[Footnote 250: Finlay Dun.]

=CORRO'SIVE SUBLIMATE.= See MERCURY.

=CORUN'DUM.= See EMERY.

=CORYZA.= Cold in the head. See CATARRH.

=COSMET'ICS.= _Syn._ COSMET'ICA, L.; COSMETIQUES, Fr. External applications employed for the purpose of preserving or restoring personal beauty. The term is generally understood to refer to substances applied to the cuticle, to improve the colour and clearness of the complexion; but some writers have included under this head every topical application used with the like intention. Hence cosmetics may be divided into--CUTANEOUS COSMETICS, or those applied to the skin; HAIR COSMETICS, or such as are employed to promote the growth and beauty of the hair; and TEETH COSMETICS, or such as are used to cleanse and beautify the teeth. See BALDNESS, COSMETIQUE, DENTIFRICES, DEPILATORY, HAIR-DYE, POMADE, TOOTH POWDER, &c.

=COSMETIC VINEGAR= (Acetum cosmetic.u.m) is a mixture of tinct. benz., 60 parts; bals. Peruv., 10 parts; eau de Cologne and bals. vitae Hoffm. ph.

bor. aa 150 parts; aceti puri, 300 parts; allowed to precipitate and filtered clear.

=COSMETIc.u.m= (Dr Henry's):--For scalp diseases and an application for the hair. Spirit, 180 parts; oil of lemon, 3 parts; oil of bergamot, oil of rosemary, and oil of lavender, of each 1 part. (Hager.)

=Cosmetic.u.m= (Siemerling) for skin affections, freckles, &c. Sweet almonds, 30 grammes; bitter almonds, 15 grammes; blanched and emulsified with 330 grammes of water; the emulsion strained and mixed with 25 grammes tinct. benzoin and 15 grammes lemon juice. (Wittstein.)

=COSMETIQUE.= [Fr.] Hard pomatum, formed into a cake or stick for the toilet. It is sometimes coloured black or brown, the pigments being added in the state of an impalpable powder.

1. (BLACK--COSMETIQUE NOIR.) From good lard, 5 parts; wax, 2 parts; (or, hard pomatum, 7 parts;) melt, stir in levigated ivory black, 2 parts; and pour it into moulds of tinfoil; which are afterwards to be placed in paper sheaths.

2. (BROWN--COSMETIQUE BRUN.) As the last, but using levigated umber for 'plain brown,' and levigated terra di Sienna for 'auburn' and 'chestnut.'

3. (WHITE, OR PLAIN--COSMETIQUE BLANC.) The same, without colouring matter.

_Obs._ They are generally scented with musk, ambergris, or ca.s.sia.

_Use._ The above are used to colour moustaches, eyebrows, whiskers, &c., as well as to keep the hair in its place. The labels on the packets before us have--"pour fixer et lisser les cheveux." The application must be renewed daily, as the cosmetique is gradually removed by friction, and perfectly so by soap-and-water.

=COSMOLINE.= _Syn._ COSMOLIN. Under the names of Cosmoline and Vaseline some fatty substances melting at 32 to 85 or even 95 C. have lately appeared in commerce. They are very variable mixtures of solid paraffin with paraffin oil, neutral oil, lubricating oil, &c., and are the residues left after the distillation of petroleum slightly purified by means of charcoal. (Miller.)

Cosmoline has been examined by Mr Naylor, who states his belief that it consists of a mixture of paraffins. Comparing Mr Naylor's results with those obtained by Mr Moss, in an a.n.a.lysis made of a body imported from America, and called "Vaseline," there seems little reason to doubt that if this latter and "Cosmoline" are not the same substance, they differ from each other only in a very minute degree, this difference not improbably being due to the varying temperature employed in producing them. Cosmoline was found to have the composition:--

Hydrocarbons (paraffins?) 9859 Moisture 069 Ash 004 ------ 9932

It melts at 40C., and has a sp. gr. of 0866 at 45C. The composition of Vaseline is as follows:--

Hydrocarbons (paraffins?) 9754 Moisture 050 Ash 005 ------ 9809

It melts at 37 C., and has a sp. gr. of 0840 at 55 C.

Both bodies are pale yellow in colour, translucent, slightly fluorescent, and semi-solid, and both are alike insoluble in water, slightly soluble in alcohol, and freely so in ether, whilst they are unaffected by hydrochloric acid and solution of potash. The processes by which it is believed cosmoline and vaseline are obtained, consist in separating the various volatile hydrocarbons from crude petroleum by distillation, the residuum is then brought into contact with superheated steam, and finally purified by filtration through animal charcoal. Vaseline has been also named "petroleum jelly." Professor Otto, of New York, says that vaseline is very extensively used throughout the United States, as a subst.i.tute for lard in the preparation of ointments, a purpose for which the freedom from smell, the negative properties and unalterable qualities when exposed to the air, of both substances, seem highly to commend their superiority to lard for this purpose. They have also been employed very successfully for lubricating surgical instruments, and we believe are, when properly scented, used largely as the basis of hair pomades, whilst their suitability for the preparation of suppositories and pessaries has been urged.

This has been demonstrated by the much greater length of time during which certain ointments made by them remain fresh and undecomposed when compared with those in which lard was used.

The 'American Journal of Pharmacy' for March, 1877, gives the following formula as a subst.i.tute for cold cream, by E. J. Davidson:--Cosmoline, 24 oz.; white wax, spermaceti, of each 12 oz.; glycerin, 3 fl. oz.; oil of geranium, 1 fl. dr.

=COSMOS POMADE= (J. Pohlmann, Vienna), 1-1/2 parts white wax, 3 parts spermaceti, 2 parts castor oil, 8 parts almond oil, 2 parts glycerine, 9 parts extract of mignonette, 1/2 part eau de Cologne. (Hager.)

=COTARN'INE.= A crystallisable substance obtained from the mother-liquors of opianic acid. It is basic, very soluble, and bitter. Hydrochlorate of cotarnine is soluble and crystalline.

=COTO BARK.= A bark said to be imported from the interior of Bolivia, and thought by Dr Wittstein to belong to a lauraceous or a terebinthinaceous plant. In one specimen examined by Jobst was found a yellowish-white crystalline substance with the biting taste of the bark, which Jobst believes to be its active principle, and to which he gives the name _Cotoin_. Another sample, however, a.n.a.lysed by Jobst in conjunction with Hesse, failed to yield any cotoin, but gave instead a crystalline ma.s.s which consisted princ.i.p.ally of three crystalline bodies, to which these chemists purpose applying the names _paracotoin_, _oxyleucotin_, and _leucotin_. Dr Gietel reports that he made trial of the bark therapeutically with some patients in the general hospital of Munich, and the results he obtained were such that he regards it as a specific against diarrha in all its varieties. Sometimes he administered it in the form of powder, and at others in that of tincture, the latter being made in the proportions of one part of bark to ten of spirit. He gave of the powder 1/2 grain four to six times a day, and of the tincture 10 minims every two hours. Herr Burkhart, similarly making trial of the _cotoin_ and _paracotoin_ instead, was equally successful as far as regarded its anti-diarrhic action, _paracotoin_, however, exercising a slighter effect than the _cotoin_. Herr Burkhart administered paracotoin either in powder 1/10th of a gram, with 1/6th of a gram of sugar every three hours, or 1/2 a gram rubbed up as an emulsion.

=COT'TON.= _Syn._ GOSSYPIUM, L. The cotton of which textile fabrics are made consists of hairs covering the seeds of certain plants belonging to the natural order _Malvaceae_, or the Mallow family. Our commercial cotton appears to be derived from four distinct species, viz.--

=Gossypium arboreum.= The tree cotton, an Indian species. Unlike the other cotton plants, it has the dimensions of a small tree. The cotton-hairs are remarkably soft and silky, and are woven by the natives into very fine muslin, used for turbans by the privileged cla.s.ses only.