Dormiol

Amylene Chloral

Composition and Properties

By the combination of amylene hydrate with chloral hydrate, dormiol is produced. It is an oily, limpid liquid, volatile, and having an aromatic and somewhat pungent taste. It is not decomposed at the boiling temperature. It is soluble in alcohol, ether, benzene, chloroform, and the fatty and ethereal oils. When mixed in equal proportions with water it forms a milky fluid, which gradually clears. This fifty-per-cent solution is utilized for making a preparation for dispensing, by mixing one part with four parts of water, but it must be kept in a cool place and in the dark, as it is liable to undergo decomposition if exposed.

The dose of this ten-per-cent solution is from 3 j to 3 iv. When administered as a hypnotic, it has been found to act more efficiently in a single large dose than in a succession of smaller doses.

Physiological Actions

Applied to the external integument, dormiol causes a burning sensation followed by vesication, and this is surrounded by a reddish erythematous zone. It is an antiseptic, arresting decomposition and destroying foul odors. In the ordinary medicinal administration it does not disagree with the stomach, nor does it impair the appetite. It is not constipating. Dormiol is absorbed promptly, and its actions are manifest within fifteen minutes to a half hour after taking.

As its composition indicates, its effects are expended on the gray matter of the cerebrum, producing quiet and deep sleep, according to the amount taken. Its hypnotic action is not absolutely certain, for it does occasionally fail; but usually it causes quiet sleep, even in conditions of high mental excitement. The duration of the sleep varies from one to ten hours, the average being about five hours, and the subject awakes refreshed, without headache or other disturbances. The circulation and respiration are not affected by ordinary medicinal doses, and it passes through the blood unchanged.

Therapy

Dormiol's particular sphere of action is as a hypnotic. As it is quite prompt in action, it suffices to give an efficient dose a half hour before the expected time. In mental disorders it has been used with much success. It not only procures sleep, but by allaying mental excitement brings about a more healthy mental state. Cures have been effected by its timely and efficient administration. In alcoholic delirium it is more useful and far safer than chloral. As it does not affect the circulation, it may be given whenever wakefulness is to be overcome, quite irrespective of the state of the heart and vessels.