Gum Arabic

Imported from

• France
• Austrian Territories
• Turkey Proper
• Egypt
• Morocco
• Bombay and Scinde
• Madras
• Australia

Description

Gum Arabic

A Compendium of Domestic Medicine, 1865

All page numbers are recorded as (PDF #/SOURCE #)

Classified by Savory as a Demulcent (Simple Remedies Which Allay Irritation by Their Soothing Properties) (413/392), and is considered to be the most useful demulcent used by physicians. (93/72)

Used to treat coughs by dissolving a piece in the mouth. Gum dissolved in water and combined with barley-water can be used to treat inflammation of the kidneys and bladder, and provide relief during the inflammatory stages of gonorrhoea. “From its light and supposed digestible nature, it is considered a wholesome and nutritious food…. About six ounces of this gum are sufficient to support a man for a day.” 93/72)

Often used to form a mucilage, in which other medications can be suspended.

Remedies Containing or to be used with Gum Arabic

• Acid, Gallic (24/3): being combined with a mucilage of gum Arabic is one way to administer the treatment. A mucilage of gum Arabic is used to make pills that treat night sweats due to consumption, and a mucilage is also employed in a mixture used by Dr. Neligan in haemorrhages in the kidneys or bladder
• Balsam, Copaiva (46/25): mucilage of gum Arabic used to administer treatment
• Bismuth, White (53/32): mucilage of gum Arabic used to form pills to treat “Gastrodynia, Spasmodic Pain in the Stomach,” and a draught recommended by Dr. Copland to treat “Gastrodynia with Flatulence.”
• Buchu Leaves (55/34): mucilage of gum Arabic used in a mixture for treating gleet and fluor albus.
• Camphor (58/37): powdered gum Arabic used to make an emulsion to combat “febrile action,” reduce irritation, increase perspiration, and promote sleep.
• Carrageen, or Irish Moss (62/41): gum Arabic used in a powder that can be turned in a jelly that is highly nutritious, greatly benefiting those with consumption, or children with Mesenteric disease.
• Chalk, Prepared (64/43): gum Arabic (powdered) used in a mixture given to infants suffering from diarrhoea.
• Cubeb, or Java Pepper (73/52): oil of cubeb can be easily administered when 5-15 drops are combined with a mucilage of gum Arabic.
• Ether, Chloric (82/61): powdered gum Arabic used in a mixture than acts as a stimulant and antispasmodic
• Extract of Hemlock (85/64): mucilage of gum Arabic used in a draught provided by Dr. Paris that will treat coughs and pulmonary irritations.
• Extract of Jalap (86/67): when combined with gum Arabic, Jalap is less likely to cause gripe when used in treatments
• Gum Arabic (93/72): used to treat coughs, reduce inflammation, and as a nutritious food source.
• Gum Guaiacum (96/75): one of the best ways to administer Gum Guaiacum is within a mucilage of gum Arabic, and Gum Arabic is included in “The Draught”
• Gum Scammony (99/78): gum Arabic included in “The Huile Purgative of Swediaur” which is often administered to children
• Paregoric Elixir (135/114): mucilage of gum Arabic used in a mixture for hooping-cough.
• Tincture of Balsam of Tolu (175/154): mucilage of gum arabic is one of the ways tincture of balsam of tolu can be administered
• Tincture of Cubebes (179/158): mucilage of gum Arabic used in a mixture beneficial in combating diseases of the bladder and urinary passages, gonorrhoea, and gleet.

Diseases Treated with Gum Arabic

General Diseases

• Cough (240/219): Mucilage of Gum Arabic used in a mixture to treat “Severe Cough of Children of Four Years of Age.”
• Choler Morbus (243/222): powdered gum Arabic included in pills used to treat vomiting or pain, which continues after initial treatment.
• Dyspepsia, or Indigestion (264/243): powdered gum Arabic included in Dr. Graves’ treatment for dyspepsia accompanied by “acid eructations” that had not been reduced with other forms of treatment
• Retention of the Urine (271/250): an emulsion made with gum Arabic “has frequently been employed with decided benefit.”

Medical Articles Containing Gum Arabic

• Hartshorn Drink (314/293): gum Arabic
• Lotion for removing particles of Iron from the Eye (316/295): mucilage of gum Arabic
• Cretaceous Powder (317/296): powdered gum Arabic
• Acacia Mixture (317/296): powdered gum Arabic

Prescriptions Containing Gum Arabic

Antacids

• Compound Chalk Mixture (327/306): powdered gum Arabic
• Acacia Mixture (327/306): powdered gum arabic

Alternatives 330/

Aperients and Cathartics

• Aperient Draught (Another) (333/312): mucilage of gum Arabic
• Aperient Oil Draught (333/312): mucilage of gum Arabic

Antispasmodics

• The Pill (338/327): mucilage of gum arabic

Astringents

• Turpentine Mixture (341/320): mucilage of gum Arabic, “when diarrhoea has long existed”

Carminatives

• Stomach Mixture (Another) (342/321): mucilage of gum arabic

Demulcents

• Demulcent Mixture (343/322): powdered gum Arabic
• Cough Mixture (344/323): mucilage of gum Arabic
• Cough Mixture (Another) (344/323): Gum Arabic

Diaphoretics

• Diaphoretic Mixture (Another) (347/326): powdered gum arabic

Expectorants

• Expectorant Mixture (348/327): mucilage of gum arabic

Narcotics and Anodynes

• Simple Sedative Syrup (353/332): mucilage of gum Arabic
• Compound Sedative Syrup (353/332): mucilage of gum arabic

Cookery for the Sick that includes Gum Arabic

• Orgeat (367/346): drink used to treat “those who have a tender chest,” often during gout. When combined with gum Arabic it can reduce pain “of the attendant heat.”