PHENOL SODIQUE
Report of Examination by Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry and Comments
An examination of this article by a subcommittee of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry revealed unscrupulous claims which are a positive menace to public health. In view of this the Council has directed the publication of the following comments.
W. A. Puckner, Secretary.
COMMENTS
Phenol Sodique was not submitted to the Council by the manufacturers, but was taken up because it is advertised to both physicians and the public. Some advertisements state: “Phenol Sodique was the standard antiseptic thirty years ago. It’s the same today.” If this were true, it would be high time to call a halt; for the unscrupulous claims made for this nostrum, and the effrontery with which they are pushed, are only rivaled by those of the most shameless “patent medicines.”
The firm of Hance Bros. & White poses as a reputable pharmaceutical manufacturing house, but how it can reconcile this position with their method of exploiting this product passes all understanding. In the original package of Phenol Sodique (the latest was purchased on June 20, 1907), there are little booklets and a folder describing the marvelous properties of the nostrum. The booklets do not refer to Phenol Sodique, but they are very instructive. They are entitled: “Dyspepsia,” “Worm News,” and “Catarrh,” advertising “Dyspepsia Stop”—some form of dyspepsia tablets, a remedy for round worms, and “Catarrh Stop,” apparently some mild antiseptic tablets. These booklets are addressed frankly to the laity, although recourse to a physician is, generously, advised if the patient does not respond to treatment! The folly of prescribing “original packages” which contain popular literature has been so often emphasized that further comment seems superfluous. The following from “Catarrh,” however, throws an interesting sidelight on the scientific status of Hance Bros. & White:
“Catarrh is due to a minute insect in the inner lining membrane of the nose. This insect multiplies rapidly, and, unless checked, and destroyed, will produce the worst results.”
To return, however, to Phenol Sodique: The folder is also evidently intended for the lay public rather than for physicians; at least, if we are to credit Hance Bros. & White with any intelligence whatsoever. It is headed: “Montyon Prize of Encouragement, Awarded by the Institute of France, 1861.” This is rather ancient, but what follows indicates that a little restraint would have been better than encouragement. The circular is a compact treatise on self-medication—apparently all that is necessary to retain or regain health is the use of Phenol Sodique, externally and internally. The following conditions are among those specifically named as amenable to this remedy. Smallpox, measles, scarlatina, erysipelas, puerperal fever, typhoid fever, cholera, diarrhea, cramps, burns and scalds, bites, cuts and wounds, excoriations, chilblains, chaps, sore throat, scratches, catarrh, tetter, sunburn, swollen veins, ulcers, hemorrhages, bruises, piles, gangrene, carbuncle, itching, insect stings, ivy poison, cold in the head, bunions, inflamed eyes, eczema, ringworm, rheumatism, pains, toothache, seat worms, etc.—besides numerous diseases of animals.
No antiseptic, whatever its composition, could by any possibility accomplish anything like what is claimed for Phenol Sodique, so that the composition of the article is really of little importance. This is evidently appreciated by the manufacturers, for they have kept the composition a profound secret, except in so far as it is implied in the name. An inquiry addressed to Hance Bros. & White, under date of April 27, 1907, six months ago, has remained unanswered. The Council, therefore, directed an analysis of Phenol Sodique. This was carried out at the chemical laboratory of the American Medical Association, and a check analysis was made by an independent firm of chemists.
This shows that Phenol-Sodique contains something like 0.5 or 0.66 per cent. of phenols, dissolved in about 0.75 per cent. of sodium hydroxid. In other words, it appears to be essentially a very dilute alkaline solution of some impure coal-tar product, presumably a crude carbolic acid. The analysis could not profitably be carried further, because the amount of the antiseptic agent is so very small.
The consideration of this analysis, in connection with the claims made for Phenol-Sodique, leaves little doubt as to one reason for the secrecy concerning its composition; although no educated physician could be deceived into believing for a moment that Phenol-Sodique could fulfil the promises of its promoters, even if it were “the best antiseptic, hemostatic and disinfectant on the market,” as the manufacturers say in their advertisements.
From its composition, it can only have the very moderate and ordinary antiseptic qualities of a dilute phenol or cresol solution, modified only to a very slight extent by the free alkali. According to the manufacturers, however, “Phenol-Sodique is a wonderful preparation.” Just how wonderful appears from these extracts from the dissertations in the pamphlet which is enclosed in the package.
“Catarrh, Old Colds, etc.—Drink every morning and evening a glass of water containing ten to thirty drops of Phenol-Sodique ...”
“Small-Pox.—To prevent attack take internally three or four times a day, fifteen or twenty drops of Phenol-Sodique in one tablespoonful of sugar and water....
“Measles, Scarlatina and Erysipelas.—Same treatment as for Small-pox.”
“Typhoid Fever.—To prevent attack take internally three or four times a day, fifteen or twenty drops of Phenol-Sodique.”
“Cholera.—To prevent, spread sawdust or sand, wet with Phenol-Sodique, in apartments.
“The very best precaution is to drink, morning and evening, a glass of water containing from fifteen to thirty drops of Phenol-Sodique....
“... Premonitory Diarrhea.—... Drink a teaspoonful of Phenol-Sodique diluted in an ounce of water....”
This is the kind of therapeutics and prophylaxis taught to the medical profession by their self-appointed instructors, the proprietors!
But this matter has a serious as well as a ludicrous side: What is the proper epithet to apply to those who, knowingly and intentionally, impress on the ignorant lay public that one can with impunity expose himself to smallpox, cholera, typhoid or scarlet fever, or measles, by taking a few drops of very dilute carbolic acid, or by sprinkling a little on sawdust? What must be the consequences to those who trust in these assurances? And what should be the lawful penalty for those whose blunted moral instincts permit them wilfully to endanger the lives of others for a little financial gain? It would be interesting to know the real opinion of the responsible members of the firm of Hance Bros. & White on these questions.
The Montyon Prize was awarded by the French Institute in 1861—forty-six years ago—how many victims a year?—(From The Journal A. M. A., Nov. 9, 1907.)