(seq. 405)

398

Materia Medica

Stimulants

hours. In a Lady who had scalded her arms completely one was
cured much sooner than the other by employing turpentine, the
former was washed with cold water. I have had no experience of its
employment in those cases. Its internal use. In giving the
turpentine it is generally necessary to combine it with some bland
substance as honey, sugar or the yolk of an egg, this will not
sometimes prevent it from producing heat of the stomach and nausea,
it is a stimulus and when taken in large doses acts as a purgative,
if ℥fs or ℥i [½ to 1 ounce] of turpentine triturated with yolk of egg, be injected
in the rectum it forms an excellent purgative, when taken up in
the blood vessels it is an universal stimulant and gives the urine
a pleasant violet odour, it will correct the factor that arises from those
that eat asparagus. Stimulating injections of oil and turpentine were
found usefull in arresting the vomiting in yellow fever and enabling
the stomach to retain medicines, its diuretic effects was perhaps the
cause of its having been employed as an antilithic medicine but from
its stimulating quality I should suppose it verry injurious in
Nephritis Calculosa. The Gout, is one of the affections in which turpentine
has been given with great advantage. In Leucorrhea Dr Cullen
supposes it acts by occasioning an inflamation of the urethra, this may