In 1884 Debove published a paper on the anaesthetic and analgesic properties of methyl chloride. But little attention was given to the subject. Very recently he has reported a fresh series of cases, and the actions of the new anaesthetic have been examined into with more zeal. He reports the treatment of one hundred and fifty cases of sciatica, of which only one in twenty failed of relief. He again asserts that lumbago and nerve-pain are cured immediately, and if relapses occur, they are quickly ended by renewed use of the remedy. Of the cases of facial neuralgia, eighteen in number, sixteen were cured.

Debove gives precise instructions about the mode of applying the remedy. As a volatile, ether-like material, rapid evaporation takes place when it is applied by the spray-douche over the affected area. An ordinary atomizer suffices. The spray should be applied over as many nerve-filaments as possible, but it is necessary to avoid producing an inflammation of the skin or an erythema. Persons having an irritable skin or a tendency to disease of the skin must be treated with caution and with the minimum of effect at the outset. Debove advises discretion in the case of those affected with albuminuria and diabetes.

The special advantage possessed by methyl chloride is the external application, which never involves more serious results than some temporary irritation of the skin; and, if the reports of its success be dependable, we have in this method the power to cure in a more ready, easy, and effective manner than ever before.

Authorities referred to:

Debove, Dr. Société medicale des Hộpitaux, in Revue de Thérap., 1887. Elay, Dr. On Methylal, London Medical Record, May 16, 1887.