What is light powder

The name of light powder may be unfamiliar, but it has another name called mercury powder. Through relevant information, we can learn that calomel is a slightly toxic drug. It is often used by doctors to prepare medicinal materials for sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis, which shows that its medicinal value is extraordinary. However, it cannot be boiled with water, as this can easily cause a chemical reaction in the calomel, causing the calomel to become highly toxic.

Although one of the functions of light powder is to kill insects, we must be careful about the use of this type of medicine in daily life, and it is best not to use this type of medicine. To prevent ignorant children from coming into contact with adverse reactions caused by this type of medicine, the following is a brief introduction to calomel.

It is a crystalline light powder of mercurous chloride (Hg2Cl2) made by sublimation of mercury, alum (or gallstone), salt, etc. It is mainly produced in Hubei, Hunan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Guizhou and other places. Keep away from light and grind into fine powder for use. Also known as mercury powder, quicksilver powder, and greasy powder. It is mainly used externally to treat sores, ulcers, itching caused by scabies, eczema, alcoholic nose, and syphilitic chancre.

A stove is built with bricks and has 10 burners on it, with a frying pan placed in each burner. First put 3.5 pounds of alum and 3 pounds of salt in a basin, add about 3 pounds of water to mix, add 6.25 pounds of mercury, stir into porridge, then add about 10 bowls of red clay, mix into semi-dry and semi-wet soft mud, divide into 10 portions, and knead into steamed bun shapes. Spread a layer of sand in the center of the frying pan, place the steamed bun-shaped objects on the sand, cover them with a ceramic bowl or porcelain basin, and then seal them with mud to prevent air leakage.

Each furnace uses about 15 pounds of high-quality charcoal. First, burn it completely red outside the furnace, then put it into each furnace eye, burn it for a while, and then turn on the fire. Make the center of the furnace eye empty. If there is a flame, cover it with charcoal to prevent it from burning. Then close the furnace door and start to simmer. When the charcoal has burned through to the point where there is no flame and a layer of white ash is on the outside, place a sealed pan on each stove eye and close the stove door. When the pot is opened after 22 hours, many polygonal flaky snowflake-like crystals will be seen inside the pot. Use chicken feathers to sweep them away, pick out impurities, and store them in a dark and airtight container.

From the detailed introduction above, it can be seen that light powder does have medicinal value, but its preparation steps are relatively complicated. Even if you understand its medicinal properties in daily life, you still need to pay more attention to the scope of use of this type of medicine to avoid using calomel in unnecessary places.