Properties.—Colorless or slightly opaque, rhombic crystals, or a white, somewhat gritty powder; odorless and having a pleasant, acidulous taste. Permanent in the air. Soluble in water; very sparingly soluble in alcohol.
Dose.—Horses and cattle, 1⁄2 to 1 oz.; sheep and pigs, 2 to 4 dr.; dogs, 1⁄2 to 1 dr.
Actions.—Potassium bitartrate is a non-irritating purgative in large doses. It is a hydragogue cathartic and has a strong affinity for water; abstracting it from the blood vessels in the bowels, holding the same in solution and thus flushing out the intestines.
Uses.—Is used for liver disease, chronic constipation, skin disease and as a refrigerant in febrile conditions. It should be given in solution and is useful in dropsies, more particularly of renal origin; also in catarrhal jaundice, and as a laxative for foals and calves. In cases where the urine of the horse is thick, stringy and high colored, it will cause it to regain its normal state. It may easily be administered in either food or drinking water, and its diuretic effect is enhanced when given with a large amount of water.
POTASSII PERMANGANAS—POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE—PERMANGANATE OF POTASH
Origin.—Potassium permanganate may be obtained by the interaction of potassium chlorate, potassium hydroxide and manganese dioxide.
Actions.—Potassium permanganate is a powerful oxidizing agent and readily yields up its oxygen in the form of ozone; hence it is an antiseptic and deodorizer. Full strength it is a mild caustic. Diluted it is astringent.
Uses.—Potassium permanganate is advantageously used to deodorize and disinfect foul smelling wounds, the nostrils in eczema, nasal gleet, the mouth in aphthae, throat when ulcerated, diphtheria, the uterus in metritis, retention of placenta and leucorrhoea. It is sometimes given internally in puerperal, erysipelas and septicaemia, also to cleanse hands or instruments. Potassium permanganate is used as a prophylactic in solutions of one in five thousand in poultry.
Potassium permanganate acts as an oxidizant much more freely upon some organic substances than upon others, by virtue of which fact it is a valuable antidote, notably in the treatment of morphine-poisoning and of snake-poisoning. In the former condition it acts only upon the alkaloid in the stomach, but should be given frequently during the continuance of the symptoms in order to destroy any morphine which may have been eliminated from the blood into the stomach. In snake-poisoning a concentrated solution of it should be injected freely and immediately into the part which has been bitten. Potassium permanganate is one of the best medicines with which to sterilize the hands before operating. A saturated solution is used for this purpose and the stains may be removed from the hands by washing them in saturated solution of oxalic acid, or in a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid.
Dose.—Horses and cattle, 15 gr. to 1 dr. in one pint of water; sheep and pigs, 5 to 10 gr. in half pint of water; dogs and cats, 1⁄2 to 11 gr. in capsule with kaolin. For poultry it should be diluted one part to five thousand parts of water.