Various applications have been recommended for the destruction of these loathsome parasites; amongst which we may mention sulphur, stavesacre, white precipitate, and cocculus indicus, in the form of ointments;

carbolic acid and perchloride of mercury lotions, and tobacco. Benzoic acid has been found of service in allaying the irritation. Diligent washing with soap and water should be had recourse to previous to applying any of the above remedies, and should the head be infested, the hair should be cut short, and frequently combed with a small toothcomb.

Pediculi are sometimes conveyed from filthy to cleanly persons by means of dirty water-closets, chairs, sheets, brushes and combs, and in various other ways.

School children frequently obtain them in consequence of their heads being brought into too close contact with the heads of other children infested by them.

LOZ′ENGE. Syn. Troche; Trochiscus, Tabella, L.; Tablette, Fr. A small cake, often medicated, consisting principally of powdered sugar, made into a mass with some glutinous liquid, without the aid of heat, and dried. The form given to lozenges (TROCHE, TABELLÆ, TROCHISCI, TABLETTES) is generally that of a small round tablet or flattened cylinder; but originally they were exclusively made in the shape of a lozenge or rhomb, from which circumstance their familiar name is derived. Lozenges are distinguished from DROPS OR PASTILLES by the non-employment of heat in their preparation; and from PASTES, by the latter being formed of vegetable juice or pulp, and having a softer consistence.

In the preparation of lozenges the dry ingredients, separately reduced to a very fine powder, are first perfectly mixed together, and then beaten into a stiff paste with the glutinous liquid employed to give them form; the mass is next rolled out to a desired thickness, and cut into pieces of the proper shape by means of a small cylinder or punch of steel or tin-plate, called a ‘lozenge-cutter.’ The newly formed lozenges are lastly dried by placing them on an inverted sieve or frame covered with paper in a dry, warm, and airy situation, and are frequently turned until they become hard and brittle, due care being taken to preserve them from dust and dirt. To prevent the mass adhering to the fingers and utensils during the process of manufacture, a little finely powdered starch, or a very little olive oil, scented with the same aromatic as that contained in the lozenges, may be used. Mucilage of gum Arabic or of gum tragacanth, thin isinglass size, or the strained white of egg, are the substances usually employed to make the pulverulent materials adhere together. A strained decoction of Irish moss is now frequently used for the same purpose, for inferior qualities. The larger the proportion of gum which enters into the composition of lozenges, the slower they dissolve in the mouth; hence powdered gum is frequently added to the other materials to increase their quality in this respect, as well as to give an additional solidity to those which, like chalk, for instance, are of a peculiarly dry or crumbly nature.

Starch and potato flour are often added to lozenge-masses in lieu of a portion of the sugar, and even plaster of Paris is not unfrequently employed to give them weight; frauds which are readily detected in the manner noticed under Gum and Sugar.

As a general rule, MEDICATED LOZENGES should weigh from 8 to 10 gr. each, and a medium dose of their active ingredient should be distributed through the bulk of 6 to 8 of them, in which case 3 to 5 of them may be safely taken as a dose, or sucked during the lapse of 3 or 4 hours. This will be useful in the preparation of those for which no established proportions are given. In ‘sending out’ compounds of this class containing active medicaments, as morphia or opium, the retailer as well as the manufacturer should be careful that the quantity contained in each lozenge is plainly marked on the label.

In lozenges intended for MOUTH COSMETICS or to perfume the breath, ambergris is generally regarded as the most appropriate perfume; but hard smokers frequently prefer cloves and cinnamon, and some ladies give the preference to roses, orange flowers, and orris or violets.

Lozenges are coloured with the same stains as are used for liqueurs and sweetmeats.