To stimulate the process of healing in wounds and lacerations such as barbed-wire cuts and tears.
As a moist dressing applied on gauze in old wounds.
As a soaking solution for foul-smelling hoof troubles.
As a wash for the veterinarian’s hands and arms, to prevent infection and remove odors, after the handling of after-births, dead fetuses, and other conditions of a similar nature.
When this preparation is used at all, it should be applied liberally; it is cheap and the cost need never be considered. It is additionally valuable, in a veterinary practice, because it can be made up extemporaneously anywhere that water can be obtained, as all veterinarians carry, in their medicine case, a supply of tincture of iodine.
The strength may be increased if desired; however, I have found the proportions, as given above, the most satisfactory.
In my experience, I have found that I can do everything that it is possible to do with iodine preparations by using the medicaments already indicated.
However, I would draw the practitioner’s attention to that preparation of iodine known as Lugol’s solution, because there is one condition that the veterinary practitioner comes into contact with quite frequently in which this iodine preparation has been found to give some very good results.
Lugol’s solution of iodine has been found to act, in a very favorable manner, in certain cases of periodic ophthalmia in horses. It is injected hypodermically in the region of the fatty pad just over the affected eye. While this is not truly a topical application, the effect that is exerted is the same as that resulting from repeated inunctions of other active iodine preparations. The use of Lugol’s solution, in this manner, is only to be preferred because it accomplishes the desired end more rapidly, and with less expense of time, than would be required by topical applications, frequently repeated. I do not doubt that just as good and lasting results could be obtained, in this condition, from daily inunction of the indicated area with an oily iodine preparation.
It remains to be said that, in this condition, internal medication is usually indicated and the iodine, in any form, applied regionally, merely acts adjunctively in any case. I have made mention of this use of iodine preparations because some practitioners treat periodic ophthalmia in this manner and have claimed good results repeatedly.