Chapter I: Catarrh and Cold Cures

The analyses here given of some of the proprietary articles which the public are induced to buy for the cure of ordinary colds and catarrh furnish a good example of the absurdity of the barefaced pretensions in which nostrum mongers indulge, for minor ailments are by no means neglected by the makers of nostrums; if the price to be obtained is somewhat lower than in the case of more serious disorders the cost price can be reduced in an equal or greater proportion. Alarming accounts, too, of the evils to be expected if resort be not had to the advertised articles are not wanting. Thus, in the advertisement of one of the articles described below, it is stated that catarrh “invariably creates biliousness, constipation, pleurisy, asthma, bronchitis, catarrhal fever, and consumption”; also that “it is estimated that over 20,000 people died in the United Kingdom last year of consumption caused by catarrh.” The remedy put forward for this malignant disease is shown by analysis to consist of a solution of a pinch of common salt with a trace of carbolic acid, the actual cost of the quantity sold for a shilling being one-thirtieth part of a farthing. The probability that many people would regard a slight cold in the head as not requiring a resort to a “specialist in chronic disease in every form” such as the proprietor of this preparation, is turned to account by a disparaging reference to the medical profession. “Catarrh,” we are told, “in its chronic form (and the complaints arising from it) is a malady which has not, up to the present time, received that attention and research from the medical faculty which it deserves. Most practitioners have given it merely a passing thought, or poohed at it as a mere cold which would soon pass off, and perhaps give some light tonic to tone up the stomach.” Another of the “remedies” described well illustrates the way in which the public is deluded by such “specialists”; camphor, quinine and ipecacuanha are frequently employed as domestic remedies in the early stages of a cold in the head, and persons who believe in their usefulness can no doubt be induced to buy a “cold cure” which professes to contain them in combination with other drugs, presented in a form convenient and agreeable to be taken; but in the tablets which are represented as consisting of cascara, bromide, quinine, ipecacuanha, camphor and bryonia, analysis did not reveal any appreciable traces of cascara, bromide, quinine, ipecacuanha, or camphor. The principal ingredients actually present were cinchonine, an alkaloid found in the bark from which quinine is prepared but cheaper than quinine, and acetanilide, a chemical better known under the name antifebrin, both in very small doses.

Many proprietary medicines of varied kinds are recommended for colds among a host of other complaints for which they are stated to possess curative powers. Apart, however, from such inclusive recommendations, a considerable number are put forward expressly and primarily for cold and catarrh, and it is a selection of these which is here described.

DR. LANE’S CATARRH CURE.

This is prepared and sold by a Company giving an address in London. The price is 1s. a bottle, containing 2½ fluid ounces.

Much printed matter is supplied with this preparation, and a few extracts are here given:

Catarrh, in its chronic form (and the complaints
arising from it), is a malady which has not, up to the
present time, received that attention and research
from the medical faculty which it deserves. Most
practitioners have given it merely a passing thought,
or poohed at it as a mere cold which would soon pass
off, and perhaps give some light tonic to tone up the
stomach. And therein lies the fatal error, for Catarrh
is a disease that cannot be trifled with, as millions
can only too surely testify.

... to let any part or organ of the system become
diseased breeds the seeds of a host of other
complaints, as all the organs of the body are in
sympathy with each other. The cause of this is easily
explained in a case of Catarrh.... It invariably
creates Biliousness, Constipation, Pleurisy, Asthma,
Bronchitis, Catarrhal Fever, and Consumption.

It is estimated that over 20,000 people died in the
United Kingdom last year of Consumption caused by
Catarrh.

The speciality of myself and Associate Physicians is
chronic disease in every form. Our library was selected
to this end, and the Herbal World explored for this
purpose—the successful treatment of chronic disease.

We have never seen one out of five hundred of the
patients whom we have cured. Most cases can be treated
just as well at a distance as if we saw them in person;
as our experience enables us to judge correctly from
a written description the nature and extent of the
disease under which the patient is labouring.

The preparation is described on the wrapper as:

The _Only Reliable_ and Effective Preparation for
the Permanent and _Radical Cure_ of this most
dangerous disease.

The directions on the label are:

For Catarrh.—Pour one-half teaspoonful in the palm of
the hand, close one nostril with the finger, and inhale
the liquid through the open nostril with sufficient
force to carry the spray down into the throat. Inhale
another half teaspoonful through the other nostril
in the same way; it is not advisable to swallow the
Catarrh Cure—however, it is perfectly harmless if you
chance to do so. Use night and morning and in extreme
cases three times a day.

Analysis showed the composition of the liquid to be:

Phenol (carbolic acid) 0·4 part.
Sodium chloride (common salt) 3.3 parts.
Water to 100 fluid parts.

The traces of impurities usually present in common salt were also found.

The estimated cost of the ingredients in 2½ fluid ounces is one-thirtieth of a farthing.

VAN VLECK’S CATARRH BALM.

This balm is supplied by an American Company having an address in London. The price charged is 4s. 6d. for a package containing 1⅛ oz.

In an accompanying circular it is stated that:

This preparation is perfectly harmless, readily
absorbed, and through its healing, soothing action
affords immediate relief and quickly cures Catarrh of
the Nose and Head, Catarrhal Deafness, Hay Fever, Cold
in the Head, La Grippe, Tonsillitis, Sore Throat and
all inflamed, irritated conditions of the nose and
throat.

The “Balm” was an ointment, contained in a collapsible tube. The directions on the label are:

First clear your head out thoroughly by blowing your
nose, then squeeze out from the tube a piece of Dr.
Van Vleck’s Catarrh Balm about the size of a pea, on
the end of the finger, and rub it well up into each
nostril, hold the other nostril and snuff it up until
you can feel it all the way up through the air passages
in your head. For severe Catarrh in the Head and Cold
in the Head also rub thoroughly over the outside of
the nose and across the forehead and on the sides of
the head just below the temples. For Catarrhal Sore
Throat and Tonsillitis rub thoroughly on the outside of
the throat and swallow at bedtime a small piece about
the size of a pea. Do not get it into the eyes. This
preparation is perfectly harmless, readily absorbed,
and through its healing, antiseptic, soothing action
affords immediate relief.

The substance consisted of soft paraffin containing a small quantity of phenol and about 2 per cent. of a mixture of volatile oils. Oils of eucalyptus, pumilio pine, and yellow sandal-wood were recognized, and the respective proportions of these were estimated by comparing mixtures of known composition with the original. The results obtained gave the following formula

Phenol 0·6 part.
Sandal-wood oil 0·5 ”
Oil of pumilio pine 0·7 ”
” eucalyptus 1.2 parts.
Soft paraffin to 100

The estimated cost of the ingredients for 1⅛ oz. is ½d.

DR. MACKENZIE’S “ONE DAY” COLD CURE.

This is supplied by a Company described as of London and New York. The price charged for a box containing 30 tablets is 1s. 1½d.

This preparation is described on the package as:

The Best Cure! For the Worst Cold!
A Speedy Cure in all Cases of Cold, Influenza, Headache,
and all Neuralgic Affections.
Nature’s Remedy.

Dose.—One tablet to be swallowed with a little water
every two hours until relieved.

As a preventive, one every four hours.

Not for Children.

The tablets were coated with sugar coloured with ferric oxide (so-called chocolate coating); after removal of the coating they had an average weight of 2 grains. Analysis showed them to have the following composition:

Cinchonidine sulphate 0·83 grain.
Acetanilide 0·71 ”
Camphor 0·10 ”
Talc 0·21 ”
Water 0·15 ”

The estimated cost of the ingredients for 30 tablets is 1¼d.

KEENE’S “ONE NIGHT” COLD CURE.

This also is supplied by a Company giving its address as New York and London. The price charged is 1s. 1½d. a box, containing 30 tablets.

This is recommended in the circular enclosed in the box in the following terms:

Keene’s One Night Cold Cure will break up any cold
overnight; or money refunded! Influenza cured in three
days. Guarantee Label around every Box. If Keene’s
One Night Cold Cure fails to Cure your Cold, your
money will be cheerfully returned on presentation of
Guarantee Label.

Keene’s One Night Cold Cure is in Tablet form and
contains nothing injurious, being chiefly composed
of Quinine, Cascara, Camphor, and other Ingredients
adopted by the Leading Medical Authorities for Colds in
the Head, Throat, and Lungs.

The “guarantee label” is worded as follows:

GUARANTEE.

If Keene’s “One Night” Cold Cure fails to effectually
break up any ordinary cold, return this Guarantee with
box to your Chemist and he will refund price paid.

Cascara—Bromide—Quinine—Ipecac—
Camphor—Bryonia—tablets. 7½d. per box.
The Keene Co.
Irving A. Keene, Treasurer.

The tablets were coated with sugar, coloured with ferric oxide (so-called chocolate coating). After removal of the coating they had an average weight of 2·07 grains. Analysis showed that they contained no bromide, no quinine, except the minute trace occurring as an impurity in the cinchonine found, and no camphor in sufficient quantity to be detected; there was no evidence of any extract or other preparation of cascara, and if any were present, the quantity did not exceed a small trace; the alkaloid found did not give the slightest indication of ipecacuanha alkaloid; extract of bryonia may have been present, as it has no distinctive characters serving for identification. The ingredients found were:

Cinchonine sulphate 0·21 grain. (approx.).
Acetanilide 0·32 ” ”
Calcium carbonate 0·25 ” ”
Starch 0·34 ” ”
Extractive and excipient 0·87 ” ”
In one tablet.

The extractive and excipient possessed no characters indicating the substance from which it was derived; it contained a small proportion of alkali in organic combination, equivalent to 1·2 per cent. of dried sodium carbonate in the tablet, and the mineral constituents usually present in vegetable extracts. The estimated cost of the ingredients for 30 tablets is ¼d.

MUNYON’S CATARRH TABLETS AND SPECIAL CATARRH CURE.

These two preparations, which have been at one time or another very extensively advertised, are supplied by a Homœopathic Company. They are stated to be manufactured in U.S. of America. The price charged for the tablets is 1s. a package, containing 17 tablets.

This preparation is recommended in the circular which accompanies it in the following terms:

CATARRH POSITIVELY CURED.—Are you a sufferer
with catarrh? Have you taken all sorts of drugs and
patent nostrums? Are you tired of paying big doctor
bills without being cured? Are you willing to spend two
shillings for a cure that permanently cures catarrh
by removing the cause of the disease? If so, ask your
chemist for a shilling bottle of Munyon’s Catarrh Cure
and a shilling bottle of Catarrh Tablets. The
Catarrh Cure will eradicate the disease from the system
and the Tablets will cleanse and heal the afflicted
parts and restore them to a natural and healthful
condition.

On the package it is stated that:

When used in conjunction with the CATARRH
CURE, they cure discharges from the head and
throat, dryness, soreness and scabs in the nose,
pains in the head, and all symptoms of Catarrh.

The directions are:

Dissolve one Tablet in 20 teaspoonfuls of warm water
and use this solution for thorough cleansing of the
nose and throat, night and morning. Inject through the
nostrils with Munyon’s Atomizer or by snuffing.

The tablets had an average weight of 6 grains. Analysis showed the composition to be:

Sodium bicarbonate 1·87 grains.
” chloride 1·81 ”
Borax, partly dehydrated 2·20 ”
Phenol (carbolic acid) trace.
Gum 0·12 grain.

in one tablet. The amount of borax was equivalent to
2·58 grains of the fully hydrated salt.

The estimated cost of the ingredients for 17 tablets is one-twentieth of a penny.

Besides the “Catarrh Cure” referred to in the above as intended for use with the tablets, there is a “Special Catarrh Cure” which costs 4s. a package containing 460 pilules.

On the package it is stated that:

It cures the most aggravated cases of hawking and
spitting of mucus, stuffy or oppressed feeling in
the head, dryness or scabs in the nose, gloomy, dull
spirits, difficulty of breathing, dropping of mucus
from the head into the throat, and liability to take
cold easily.

The directions are:

Take four pellets every hour. Half quantity for children.

The average weight of the pilules was ½ grain. On first opening the bottle containing them a slight smell of alcohol was noticeable, but the loss of weight on drying was only 0·08 per cent. No medicament of any kind could be detected, nor any substance but sugar; determination of the amount of the latter showed 100 per cent. to be present.

From the odour of alcohol observed it is not unlikely that the pilules had been “medicated” by treatment with some dilute tincture, but if so, the amount of medicament so imparted was infinitesimal.

The estimated cost of 460 pilules is one-tenth of a penny.

BIRLEY’S ANTI-CATARRH.

The price charged for this fluid, sold by a London Company, is 1s. 1½d. a bottle, containing nearly 3 fluid ounces.

The bottle was accompanied by four pages of printed matter headed “The Birley Monthly Report,” in which the “Anti-Catarrh” was included in a “List and Prices of Dr. Birley’s Compounds of Free (or Unoxidised) Phosphorus,” and described as “Special Remedy for Catarrh and Influenza.” The following extracts are from the same circular, under the heading “The Wonders of Phosphorus.”

Free (or unoxidised) Phosphorus, whose chief seat or
situation is in the brain, is one of the most important
elements contained in our bodies. Without Free
Phosphorus there can be no thought, and very probably
no life....

One thing is proved beyond doubt, that the degree of
intellectual thought depends upon the amount of Free
Phosphorus in the brain, and just as the Phosphorus is
unduly wasted, so does the brain power weaken....

Free Phosphorus, it is thus shown, must be the saving
agent—no other means is possible. This one element
must be replaced.

The directions are:

For an ordinary cold take one teaspoonful every two
hours until better, then every third and fourth hour,
and finally night and morning.

For severe attacks, commence by taking a dose every
hour until better, then gradually increase the period
between each dose as attack abates. For Children, give
half doses.

Analysis showed the presence of:

Sugar (partly as “invert sugar”) 74 parts.
Tartaric acid 1·15 parts.
Phosphoric acid 0·07 part.
Alcohol trace.
Water to 100 fluid parts.

No free phosphorus could be detected, but the odour when the bottle was first opened suggested the presence of a trace. From the presence of a trace of alcohol it appears probable that an alcoholic solution of phosphorus had been added, and that the phosphoric acid had been formed by its oxidation. If the phosphorus found were in the free state each fluid drachm would contain about ¹/₈₀ grain. The liquid was of a light straw colour, probably produced by addition of a trace of colouring matter.

The estimated cost of the ingredients for 3 fluid ounces is ½d.