The Treasure of the Medicine Chest By Katherine Dull

Transcription

1 Page 1 The Treasure of the Medicine Chest By Katherine Dull Source: Photos by author. At first glance, you might be able to infer the purposes and uses of the medicine chest. You can probably see that it carried medicine and guess that it was used in the field of pharmacy. What you might not realize is that the chest s true treasure lies in its expression of the medical beliefs and practices starting in the eighteenth century and continuing into the twentieth century. The history of the medicine chest and its uses in medical treatment demonstrate the common medical practice of homeopathy at the time, in which treatment was based on symptoms rather than on the underlying causes of disease. The pictured medicine chest (above) from UNC s Health Sciences Library is a chestnut-colored wooden box with a hinged lid and dimensions of about 15 x 12 x 12. There is a brass keyhole and a lower pull-out storage drawer with a knob, which might have contained salves and cloth or lint for dressing. 1 There are sixteen compartments inside the chest, the four larger of which are empty. In each of the twelve smaller partitions lies a small glass bottle with a glass stopper. Four of the bottles are unlabeled, but the remaining nine are marked as Listerine, Dioxogen, absorb t cotton, gargle, Epsom salt, alcohol, lotion, hydrogen peroxide, and boracic acid. Most of the vials are empty, but the bottles marked cotton and gargle are still filled with their contents. 1 Keith C. Wilbur, Antique Medical Instruments: Price Guide Included, West Chester, PA: Schiffer, 1987, 83.

2 Page 2 While this particular medicine chest is fairly simple and plain, some early American chests were ornate and finely crafted. 2 Exact dating of the chest is challenging since similar designs were made for several years. Some chests only had room for medicine bottles, while others included storage compartments that could house tools such as scales or mortars and pestles. They were not only used by physicians, but were also used by ordinary families that practiced homeopathic treatment techniques. Additionally, chests were used by military doctors and on ships, railroads, and factories. 3 After the 15th-century invention of gunpowder, an increasing demand for surgeons necessitated the creation of the medicine chest. This demand for surgeons, coupled with the fact that physicians could no longer fit all of their diagnostic instruments in their coat pockets, created a need for such a tool case. Medicine chests were used during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars as surgeons needed portable cases to carry medicine vials and minor surgical instruments. American Revolution chests were usually sold by colonial apothecaries fully outfitted with supplies and medicines. 4 Based on the 19th century apothecary Dr. Thomas Ritter s A Medical Manual and Medicine Chest Companion, customers were charged for chests based on the amount of medicine included in them. Ritter sold new chests and replenished supplies. He was careful to never overstock the chest in order to enhance the amount of the bill as customers were billed based on the quantity of medicine. 5 Since medical diagnosis was not very precise in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, chests housed many different compartments for medicine vials. The chests shrunk in size as doctors and apothecaries gained more information about diseases and treatments, which made diagnosis more accurate and called for a fewer variety of medicines. 6 In addition to being used by doctors for portable treatment, medicine chests were used in the homes of everyday citizens after Dr. Hans Burch Gram introduced homeopathy to New York City in Wilbur, Antique Medical Instruments, Charles C. Richardson and Lillian C. Richardson, The Pill Rollers: A Book on Apothecary Antiques and Drug Store Collectibles, 2nd ed. Harrisonburg, VA: Old Fort Press, 1992, Wilbur, Antique Medical Instruments, Thomas Ritter, A Medical Manual and Medicine Chest Companion: For Popular Use in Families and on Ship Board, for the Treatment of the Ordinary Diseases of the Human System, 4th ed. New York: S.W. Benedict, 1847, 2. 6 Wilbur, Antique Medical Instruments, Ibid, 83.

3 Page 3 Homeopathy served as a driving force behind the popularization of the medicine chest, explaining how we can use the chest as a lens through which to view this medical practice. Homeopathy is a type of systematic treatment that appealed at the time when little was known about the conditions and processes of disease. 8 One of the three main assumptions of homeopathy is the law of similars, which concludes that substances causing symptoms in a healthy individual can be administered as a cure to sick individuals with these same symptoms. Another main premise of homeopathy is the use of small doses, which stems from the fact that many homeopathic remedies are toxic in large concentrations. 9 Substances are sometimes diluted to the point that no molecules of the original solute remain, which is one of the main reasons why the practice of homeopathy is challenged today. Many pharmacists believe that homeopathy does not contain a strong basis in scientific theory and lacks supporting evidence, though some studies have shown that homeopathic treatments can be effective in a variety of conditions such as hay fever, allergic asthma, and childhood diarrhea. 10 (Left) Field medicine chest used in the Civil War by Surgeon George King of the 16th Regiment, Mass. Infantry. (Right) Glass bottles containing Dover s Powder, Calomel, Tartar Emetic, and Purgative pills that were used to clear the body of ill humors during the Civil War. Source: Gordon Dammann. A Pictorial Encyclopedia of Civil War Medical Instruments and Equipment. Vol. 1. Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1983, Wilbur, AntiqueMedical Instruments, Teela Johnson and Heather Boon, Where Does Homeopathy Fit in Pharmacy Practice? American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 71.1 (2007). 10 Ibid.

4 Page 4 The use of medicine chests in the Civil War and the minimal aid of symptomatic treatment against disease illustrate the ineffectiveness of homeopathic techniques in the 19th century. Around 414,000 fatalities (or about two-thirds of all Civil War casualties) were a result of disease. 11 Nature and diet were more effective treatment techniques than a physician s healing art since physicians only treated symptoms, unaware of the causes behind the diseases themselves. A major form of drug therapy was the unique home remedies created by soldiers, though there was not much in the way of curative powers of the wonder drugs of the time, which included quinine, bromine, ether, chloroform, opium, and morphine derivatives. 12 These commonly used compounds would have been found in the typical physician s Civil War medicine chest. Even mercury pills were used as treatment, illustrating that the best defense against disease was just to stay healthy. 13 Since homeopathic treatments were based on symptoms of a disease rather than knowledge of its cause, citizens could treat themselves using medicine chests in the home. Many chests came with manuals that matched symptoms to their supposed treatment, using numbered and labeled bottles with specific instructions so the public could apply homeopathic techniques. 14 Dr. Ritter s A Medical Manual and Medicine Chest Source: Photo by author. Companion describes the uses of some of the labeled vials in the pictured medicine chest. Ritter s companion explains that Epsom salts, which should be taken in one or two ounce doses, serve as a very cooling purge in fevers, and in external and internal inflammation. 15 Epsom salts were also used as an antidote to 11 Gordon Dammann, A Pictorial Encyclopedia of Civil War Medical Instruments and Equipment. Vol. 1, Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1983, Ibid. 13 Ibid. 14 Wilbur, Antique Medical Instruments, Ritter, A Medical Manual and Medicine Chest Companion, 11.

5 Page 5 overdoses of sugar of lead because the salts would break down the poison and carry it out of the system. 16 These homeopathic techniques allowed for the education of the public on the purposes of medicines. Changes in pharmacy, which played an important role in society, led to the phasing out of medicine chests. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, U.S. pharmacies were more than a store and fulfilled a specific social role. 17 Pharmacies served as meeting and gathering places for the community, and druggists served as a link to health care as the population increased. 18 Pharmacists had the role of [counseling] patients on how to safely and effectively use medications, which included homeopathic products. 19 The increase in the availability of pharmacists and physicians was one reason for the decline of the medicine chest. With physicians so readily available, there was a decreased need for domestic chests. The changing character of medicines, which signaled a move away from homeopathy, also eliminated the need for medicine chests. Pills replaced liquids and powdered medicines, meaning smaller glass vials could be used for medicine transportation. 20 Medicine chests were replaced with small vial cases and eventually became extinct in the world of medicine. An analysis of the medicine chest s history and the practices of homeopathy have uncovered the true treasure of the medicine chest. From the chest s rise after the invention of gunpowder to its popularization as a homeopathic treatment method and finally to its replacement with new medical technology, the medicine chest has continued to reveal the common medical practices of its time. The pictured chest from UNC s Health Sciences Library might no longer serve a practical purpose, but it remains a historical treasure that allows us to examine the practice of homeopathy in American history. 16 Ritter, A Medical Manual and Medicine Chest Companion, John Fredgant, Medical, Dental, and Pharmaceutical Collectibles: An Identification and Value Guide, Florence, AL: Books Americana Inc., Ibid. 19 Boon, Where Does Homeopathy Fit in Pharmacy Practice? 20 Richardson, The Pill Rollers, 99.