The quest for good health! This collection of old medicine packets found at a Queen B sale is a window into both illnesses and treatments of the past. Although not dated, each is old enough to be cardboard, not plastic. Chloroform was used as anesthesia to render patients unconscious during surgery, but in these Medicated Throat Disks it was combined with 2 species of pepper, mint, anise, licorice and linseed. While you might find contemporary throat lozenges with these herbal ingredients today, chloroform is no longer used medically due to serious side effects.
Quinine became the go-to treatment for malaria upon its discovery in the bark of Peruvian cinchona trees in 1820. A mosquito-borne infectious disease that causes fever, vomiting, seizures, coma and death, malaria contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire, where it was so common it was called “the Roman fever”. People who contract malaria can have recurrences without being bitten by a mosquito a second time, as the infection persists in the body. The Bromo Quinine laxative here was formulated for treating both “colds’ and “La Grippe”, grippe being a French name for influenza or “the flu”. Like malaria, influenza has devastated human populations for centuries, but since it is both airborne and spread by direct physical contact rather than insect bites, it can sweep the world in deadly pandemics. Flu currently causes 290,000–650,000 deaths per year but can be mitigated by both preventative vaccines and more effective treatments. And while it’s still used medically, quinine is no longer a first treatment choice, but the bark extract does lend its bitter flavor to the tonic water in Gin & Tonics. Really!
The box with the handwritten label “Calomel, 1/4 grain” once held a mineral mercury chloride compound. Used from the 16th to early 20th century, Calomel was regarded as a miracle drug against ingrown toenails, teething, gout, bronchitis, cholera, flu, tuberculosis, syphilis, and even cancer. Although initially somewhat effective, more research showed that the mercury in the compound was eventually poisoning patients, so better alternatives were developed.
This leaflet was among a homeowner’s personal effects, saved for over 95 years. When “Train Ticket to No-Diphtheria-Town on the Health Road” was published in the 1930s, the deadly bacterial infection was widespread. Diphtheria killed 1 in 10 of those infected – 13,000 to 15,000 Americans every year. The majority were children under 5, making it a particularly tragic illness. A vaccine was developed in the 1890s but took time to be widely adopted. Handed out in schools, this 3 & 1/4″ x 5 & 1/2″ leaflet was aimed at both parent and child. It presents the scary shots and follow-up test as something reassuringly familiar: a train trip where the kindly conductor (your doctor) punched your ticket at each of 4 stops: 3 shots and a follow-up test. Without all the shots, the child would still be vulnerable to infection. The test at the end was necessary to confirm full immunity, so follow-through on all 4 doctor’s visits was important. The pamphlet offers three vaccination options: family doctor, school doctor or at a dedicated Diphtheria Prevention Clinic; that’s how serious this now almost completely irradicated illness was. These pamphlets were published by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, meaning the company generated actuarial tables calculating the preventative treatment’s effectiveness and then got onboard 100%. Their calculation paid off; after widespread vaccination in the U.S., there has been less than 1 case of diphtheria diagnosed per year. As you can see, this particular leaflet was never filled in. Hopefully it was saved as a novel piece of ephemera and not as a regret-filled memento mori. Either way, let’s be glad medicine continually advances! (cough)
Tuesday Treasures was started by our staff member, Jeanne Lusignan. Each week she will be featuring items that have been found at our estate sales. If you would like to submit a treasure for Jeanne to feature in a future installment of “Tuesday’s Treasures”, please follow the button below and send us an email! Please attach a few photos of your treasure in a beautiful setting as well as any details you have about your item such as manufacturer, use, age, region of origin. If you don’t know about the piece, that’s okay! We still might be able to research it for you! Don’t forget to tell us what makes this item such a treasure to you!