On the antiseptic action of benzyl alcohol

Abstract

In a communication 1 dealing with the pharmacological and therapeutic action of benzyl alcohol as a local anesthetic one of the authors (M.) called attention to the fact that pure benzyl alcohol when injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly was irritant and produced necrosis of tissue. In every case, however, in which this occurred there was never a pyogenic infection noted; the slough being of a sterile character. This, it was remarked, was undoubtedly due to the antiseptic properties of pure benzyl alcohol and the destructive effect was not at all surprising as similar results could be produced by antiseptics in general when injected into the tissues in the undiluted form. It was interesting, however, to investigate further the antiseptic properties of phen-methylol or benzyl alcohol, and especially in dilute form. In the present communication the authors wish to report a few observations on the subject.

Bacteriological studies with solutions of benzyl alcohol in water showed that it is quite antiseptic to a number of microorganisms. Experiments with a 0.5 per cent. solution of phen-methylol were found to kill cultures of Friedländer bacillus within nineteen hours. The same strength of the drug killed pyocyaneus cultures within twenty-four hours and growths of bacillus coli communis in seventy-two hours. Experiments with a 1 per cent. solution of benzyl alcohol gave evidence of even more marked and rapid bactericidal action.

A large number of clinical histories seem to confirm the authors' observations of the antiseptic properties of benzyl alcohol. A study of over 200 post-operative histories of patients on whom operations were performed with the use of benzyl alcohol as a local anesthetic showed that in all cases the wounds healed rapidly and without any infection, such as was occasionally noted in cases in which ethyl chloride had been used.