Lysol

LYSOL, cresol soap, saponated cresol solution, Lysol, Lysolum, Liquor Cresoli saponatus (Ph VII). Shortly after Lister (1867) introduced phenol for the antiseptic treatment of wounds, attention was drawn to cresols, homologs of phenol, which proved to be less toxic than carbolic acid and more effective bacterial poisons, especially metacresol. Since the low solubility of cresols in water was an obstacle to their use, various combinations of cresols with soap (Lysol and the dense, ointment-like Dura-Lysol), with resin soap (Creolin), and with other substances that keep cresol in a colloidal solution in water (Solveol—a neutral aqueous solution of crude cresol with sodium cresotinate, various preparations with salts of sulfonic acids) were proposed. Lysol is a transparent, reddish-brown, oily liquid with an alkaline reaction and the odor of cresols, with a specific gravity of 1.035–1.050; it dissolves in water, glycerin, alcohol, and gasoline. The cresol content is 47.5–50%, including at least 35% metacresol; the soap content is about 30%. To obtain Lysol, good potassium soap (from drying oil, e.g., linseed oil) is mixed with cresol and heated until a homogeneous solution is obtained. Aqueous solutions of Lysol are widely used for disinfection in the following concentrations: 5–10%—in spittoons and vessels used by infectious patients, for the disinfection of excreta, etc.; 2–5%—for the disinfection of instruments, usually by boiling or by immersing the instruments for 1/2 hour in the solution; 0.5–1.5%—for the disinfection of hands; 0.5–1%—for (warm) vaginal douches. It has been recommended (Burger) at 0.1 g for internal use in the form of pills as an appetite stimulant. Negative properties of Lysol: toxicity, although weaker than that of phenol; a 10% solution has a strong caustic effect on mucous and serous membranes; prolonged use of even weaker solutions sometimes leads to persistent dermatitis. Instruments become slippery from the soap in Lysol. In case of poisoning with Lysol, give protein, mucilaginous drinks, lime water with sugar, sodium sulfate, and potassium acetate in solution; avoid oils, alcohol, and other solvents of cresols. The lethal dose of Lysol has not been established. Symptoms of Lysol poisoning are analogous to those from carbolic acid. Detection during forensic chemical examinations—see Cresol. Nafta-Lysol—Lysol prepared with naphthenic soaps; cresol content is 35%. It surpasses other cresol preparations in the fight against insects (disinsection) due to the insecticidal action of the naphthenic soaps themselves (in our country, "Mylonaphth L"). As a disinfectant, it is equivalent to Lysol. For the disinfection of walls, floors, and objects, it is used in a 1–5% aqueous solution; for the disinfection and especially for the disinsection of laundry and the body—in 0.5–1% solutions. Chemical properties, toxicity, and antidotes are the same as for Lysol, in view of the content of the same amount of cresols.