Dog Drugs Applied to Skin

The person who did not own pets B.S.D. (before sulfa drugs) cannot possibly appreciate what their discovery has meant to pet owners. True,most sulfa drugs are outdated and most are being replaced for some purposes by the antibiotics, but veterinary medicine is now a far happier profession because of them.

The first to be discovered was sulfanilamide. Shortly thereafter unfounded claims were made for it as a cure-all; it was said to be a specific for coccid, viruses, including distemper in dogs, and all kinds of bacteria. But further research showed that its field was very narrow that it killed only a limited number of bacteria and was ineffectual against viruses, coccid, warts, bad disposition, or in growing toe-nails! Moreover, it killed some patients.

One sulfa drug after another appeared for many years until so many shortcomings were observed that most have quietly faded away. How-ever, a few remain and are lifesavers. Others are returning to be used with other drugs much more effectively than by themselves.

Powdered sulfa drugs are often sifted into surgical incisions and wounds, where they are of great help. Now they are being used in solutions, such as in propylene glycol, and poured into inaccessible wounds where they often prove to he true miracle drugs.