Magnesia.

Dose.—Of Magnesia, as a laxative, ʒss. to ʒj.; as an antacid or antilithic, gr. x. to ʒss. It should be thoroughly triturated and intimately mixed with milk or sweetened water before it is administered.

Therapeutic Action.—Magnesia Calcinata, or Usta, is a mild laxative and antacid, and as such it often proves valuable in diseases of children. In diarrhoea and dysentery arising in a redundancy of acid in the primae viae it is valuable, especially when united with rhubarb. In flatulence it may be combined with carminatives, as dill or anise water. It is sometimes added to the more drastic cathartics, to modify the severity of their action.

In dyspepsia and cardialgia, arising from the presence of an acid in the stomach, attended with constipation, the Calcined Magnesia is often prescribed with decided advantage. It is an important anti-emetic in sympathetic vomiting, especially in those cases arising from pregnancy; in this case it should be given till it acts as a gentle laxative. Also employed by adults in diseases of the rectum, as piles, stricture, etc. It is also used in gout, rheumatism, sick-headache, and whenever there is a redundance of uric acid secreted, giving rise to the formution of urinary calculi.

The American Eclectic Materia Medica and Therapeutics, 1898, was written by John M. Scudder, M.D.