Estivin
To the Editor:—What is “Estevin,” or something like that? It is said to be good in hay-fever.
Constant Reader.
Answer.—The product called “Estivin” is sold by Schieffelin and Company, New York. A request for a statement of the composition of this preparation sent to Schieffelin and Company by the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry brought the indefinite and, therefore, meaningless statement that “ ‘Estivin’ is an extract of Rosa Gallica containing no alcoholic or foreign ingredients.”—(Query from The Journal A. M. A., Nov. 12, 1921.)
Iron Arsenite
To the Editor:—Can you inform me how iron arsenite can be prepared for subcutaneous injection? A commercial firm furnishes physicians with ampules of arsenite of iron. Is this really arsenite of iron?
S. H. Kempner, M.D., New York.
Answer.—Ferric arsenite (iron arsenite) is in itself relatively insoluble in water, but may be treated with ammonium citrate, the resulting product thus being soluble; the latter substance was at one time described in New and Nonofficial Remedies as “Ferric Arsenite, Soluble” and is sometimes sold as a solution in ampule form. In 1912, the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry deleted “Ferric Arsenite, Soluble” from New and Nonofficial Remedies because “one cannot, in administering Ferric Arsenite, Soluble, give a useful dose of iron without giving too much arsenic; and, vice versa, one cannot give a safe dose of arsenic without giving too little iron.” The Council, therefore, held the preparation to be irrational and unscientific.—(Query in The Journal A. M. A., Feb. 19, 1921.)
K-Y Lubricating Jelly
To the Editor:—1. What is the composition of “K-Y Lubricating Jelly”? 2. Can you furnish a formula for a simple nongreasy lubricating jelly?