Castor Oil

(kas’-ter oyl). An aperient medicine of unpleasant taste. It is best administered to adults in coffee, or in brandy and water. Pour some coffee into a cup and shake the cup so that the sides are wet with coffee; pour the oil into the centre of the coffee; make the patient open the lips widely, and let the oil pa well to the back of the throat. Give a drink of pure coffee just before and just after the oil. For children, powder a de ertspoon with powdered sugar, pour in the oil, powder its surface with sugar. Give a drink of milk just before and just after the oil. Usual dose: teaspoonful for a child, one to three tablespoonfuls for an adult. Gelatin coated capsules of castor oil have lately been put on the market, two of which hold a teaspoonful; they are quite tastele . — s. 25 —