The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-04-27
MEDICINE IN TIBLErS.
FSpm fhs Ass yerk Ssm or february s, fS7A
lpc,easing Use Of Drugs In This Form
Instead sf Compeuuding ~

lncleasins Use Of Druss In This Form
instead 81 Compeunding ~
Prescription.
A comparatively recent invention, vastly
extended In It's application within three or
four years, has wrought a curious change
in the practice OF medicine. Country ply
sicians 100 years ago, when there were
few druggists outside Of considerable towns,
carried ia tiieir saddle bags or medicine
chests A. variety of drugs, pills,
powders, - potions, lotions and
whatno SAZ such physicians made
up their own prescriptions and
furnished their patients with medicines. The
use OF medicines In the form of tablets
tends more and more toward a return of
modern physicians to the methods of thei.
predecessors. Physicians everywhere now
write fewer prescriptions than they wrote
ten years ago, or even two years
ago. and the use of medicine
in the l form Of tablets IS ex-
tending - every day.
1t Is only ten or fifteen years since com.
pressed tablets OF chlorate OF potash began
to be used. Other simple drugs were then
put up in tablet form. and gradually the va
riety Of drugs and prescriptions thus pre-
pared was extended until now
Ii includes 4 thousands Of CON-
pound ~ E Any physician may
now have - almost any prescrip.
ton of his own made up into tablets. Tho
usual requirement Is that at least 5000 tab
lets shall be ordered. Many well-known
prescriptions Of famous physicians have al.
ready attained wide celebrity in the medi.
cal world through their use in tablet FORM
Hundreds Of liquid ~ prescriptions
re thus used by AA saturat-
ing inert material VRV withr the
mixture, lust as homror rathic
remedies are prepared In the form Of sugar
pellets. The tablet factories are constantly
experimenting with view to reducing fur
ther drugs and prescriptions TO tablet form.
They are ready to vary known prescriptions
In accordance with the fancy
4 !: :s5.'s; q! 3: ::,;:;':;;
prescriptions in single tab
let. The general use OF tablets instead OF
prescriptions has greatlv smplibed the
practice of medicine. The physician, in
stead of writing prescription and instruct
ing his patient to have it compounded by a
druggist, leaves the necessary number OF tab
lets with instructions as 10 the
time ar d manner Of M>A taking.
Nearly every physician W. is pro-
vided with some such tablets,
and many use them In great quantities.
Tons OF drugs are now put up in this form.
1t is the wholesale method OF modern life
applied 10 the preparation Of medicines.
Apothecaries have felt the effects of the
change in practice ~ through the les
scriptions to be compounded.
Eor tba ,>at,eot IL bac chen pPned
the cost Of doctoring, for the physician
obtains the tablets at so low rate that
he usually makes no charge for those sup
piled to his patients. New as
the use ~ "a Of tablets is. the form
ot the ~ - tablet has been
greatly ~ improved since their in
PRODUCTION into medical practice. Tablets
are smaller and more compressed than they
were few years ago. The machinery for
making them originally
was, and AAA perhaps still is, con-
trolled by V-V single whole
sale drug - house of this city,
but there are many manufacturers OF tab.
lets here and elsewhere. When the pat
entees first began to call their products to
the attention of physicians, the
tablets very sA slowly made their
way, because ~ the patentees we're
not widely D known in the med
ical profession. Then they associated them
selvei~vith famous drug house. and the
tablets soon began 10 go.
Only the sinper o,Lgs and remedies put
up in tablet form are accessible 10 the
general public. The compounds are not
even known by name outside
the medical profession. A s
they are not NWN pate ( medi-
cines they are not advertised In
other than medical newspapers. They come
tophysicians with label that proclaims the
ingredients and their proportions. Physi-
clans have the good repute Of the manu-
facturer as guarantee that tablets are made
OF pure drugs and carefully compounded.
The best tablet manufacturers
employ skilled 4 ~ and careful
apot he carries NJ - aud buy their
drugs in large . quantities di.
rectly from manufacturers.
INTERESTING SECRET HISTORY OF AN OLD.
TIME REMEDY.
A certain well-known preparation Is so
largely prescribed by physicians that It's use
by them may be said to be universal. Con-
versationally 1t is spoken of among them
selves as the X. & s. Compo." II you
are Ill ana call the doctor, no
matter what else IA you get, you
are moderately m SI certain to set
some one of the forms OF the
"R. & S" prescription. It's use has been
growing more general for hundred years,
and has been vastly increased of late by
slight improvements found TO be important
in effects. The prescription. especially in
rural districts, Is usually prepared in fluid
form, sometimes in powders but Of late 1t
has been found possible to prepare II In tab
lets. the form now so popular with phys-
clans for all standard me d l.
cines. So enormous ~ the
demand d, fr o m ~U physi-
clans solely, for the ~ various
forms of this preparation that a single
manufacturing chemist in New York City
made and sold $4,000 pounds of these