ANTHELMINTICS.


Anthelmintic means "against a worm," and is a term employed to designate
those medicines which destroy or expel worms. It means the same as
_Vermifuge_. Little is understood concerning the origin of worms. There
are five distinct varieties described by authors as being more common
than others. There is the long worm, the short, or pin-worm, the
thread-worm, the tape-worm, and the broad tape-worm peculiar to some
countries of Europe. Irritation of the alimentary canal, from whatever
cause usually produces an abundant secretion of mucus, which is thought
to be a condition favorable for their production. Therefore, those
medicines which remove the cause of this irritation tend to diminish the
number, if not to entirely destroy the worms. Some medicines kill the
worms, others expel them alive. The remedies which successfully remove
one kind of worm, have little effect upon another, and to meet these
different conditions, we have a variety of worm-destroying medicines.
The pin-worm, inhabits the rectum, and may be destroyed by injecting
into it a strong solution of salt, or decoction of aloes, and when it is
allowed to pass away, the rectum should be anointed with vaseline,
butter, or lard. The eggs of this worm are developed around the orifice
of the large intestine, and when this latter precaution is not practiced
every time there is a passage from the bowels, they will multiply as
rapidly as they can be destroyed. Generally, vermifuge remedies should
be taken when the stomach is empty, and should be followed by the
administration of a cathartic in two hours after the last dose is
administered.