Lexington weekly intelligencer., 1881-03-26
SANITARY.
X ella tions of Patent Medicines 70
Public. Health.
From the independently

The subject of patent Or proprie-
tary medicines is one which 10 as
cussed from various standpoints.
The New York Medical Record has
recently been showing how demoral-
;Ziuy are some of these advertise
ments. and how, in general, the
notoriety thus given to charlatans is
not commendable.
Some have interested themselves
enough to anaiyZc the characters OF
! ;he prominent patent medicine spec.
| iatIsts, and TO show how little entitled
they are to consideration as the
authors of scientific compounds.
Others have studied the subject
from the standpoint OF economy. Ihe
amount spent in this country upon
patent medicines, and mostly by the
| working classes, Is very enormous.
Two-ihirds Of the wholesale druggists
would stop their trade. were 1t not
for the patent medicine business. lu
no direction ia human credulity so
imposed upon. Amid the long cata.
,ogue OF ailments. the invalid wonders
whether his case may not be met, ana
so invests in the Hygiene Pill, the
Blood Purifier, or the Stomach and
Liver Regulator.
From our knowledge of the nedi.
cal profession, we believe they have
little 10 complain OF from this promis-
, cuous dosing. We think 1t Is their
! personal experience that such Quack-
, cry helps to furnish them patients
and to largely increase the roll OF
inyaiids. But the public are more
I directly concerned. The Offering OF
= a patent medicine, it it ia really .
: medicine, is the offering OF a material
q or of Il combination OF materials
u which is not serviceable to q person
J. ', in health. Indeed, it 10 sure TO bs
more or less injurious to any person
;, not standing In need OF 1t. tis ad-
mitted that what we use as medisine
is not meant for food. The physician
:; has to deal with many polsons, aud
u examination shows that patent nos
y trums contain many of theseo Arsenic
+" is a common combination in chill aud
=, nalariai diseases. Corrosive subl,mate
= IS very prominent in one popular
~ remedy. Opium in one form or an.
y other enters iutO most of TIE cough.
y, drops and soothing syrups. Many Of
IL the patent pills are made up OF most
" drastic purgatives, I'M order to insure
=, their effect. AS vended through the
" country, these are often as hard a.
%; shot, aud most physlciaiit are familiar
y, with cases OF intestimalHpain or fatal
colIc where these are found, undiEest.
a., Ell III the l0WCT UOWcA.- Aa0 JuDGAOS-
~ tiom for the use Of any medicine at all
,s is found in the fact that there 10
~ science and all art Which Recognizes
~ the adaptation Of certain medicines
,'i ,,i TO certain conditions Of = human Sys-
y, tenn. To treat case by mere name
nt ~ of disease, without regard TO the per-
Va "' sou or the particular istsgeSf disor-
y" der, is, as a rule, q treatment far
20, inferior to that restorative effort
~ ~ which nature generally makes with
m m'r. out aid. Hence. il ,fhasi been the
an greatest prOgression OF modern medl-
az, cal art that medicine tpr its ewn sake
,o,' is so greatly dispensed with and that,
'u 'u. ON the other hand, III cases where
~, ,ur clear diagnosis Is made ana clear In
sn dications discerncd, it is administered
W with SO bold and vigorous y hsnd.
j., 1t is the patient aud, tkeityps Of the
=" disorder that is treated, rather than &
an name. Tne dose, Instead of being
~, permanently inscribed OH the bottle
,a .an or the box. must vary often from 5 to
- 100, the value of the treatment de-
pending upon this variation as much
IS upon the particular, medicine
~, Every advance in medical treatmen
~, an IN ali medical depart mehts has tended
rHs Tn TO thrust medicine aside. except "a
= =; y tar as 1t is very accurately prescribed
,ive anuet % ,naaoaiH"s s',, 49,, "v" .S..,;m.,;o,,
Hence, any system which ignores tht
must bs great tax upon the publ
health. Even the temptation to tn
use oil these proprietary drugs ough
to have been largely overcome by tn
mes general increase of medical knowl
:on edge. In the minor cases. IN whic
l":e Dme may be assumed to treat q symp
tom without expert knowledge, IL
;,', az TAR safer to health to Use some well
'in'' known cathartic or anodyBe. IL
sea. always to be remembered that, whe
'."s we 90 beyond this, to the use of an
.he patent medicine by any law Of probs
= ~ biities the chances Of doing harm fA
''er' exceed those Of doing good. Th
patent medicine business has becOm
sNI :. so prominent an industry and 10 pui
'u,, sued with such vIgor by those wh
" have no perceptible way Of making
ho' living that il is nut wonderful tbs
N re.. so many are beguiled into aeceptane
'Se% view, of such remedies. Sons. regulation
anu of the mails a few years since shove
oeo' the tendencies Of this ciiaTaatanisn
u IL The rapidity with which. such med
'iaoe cines have subsidized after the death I
utn their mercantile distribItefs show
i fill o" "yr,o .r,, " Ia ,na. ,,Io ;"c",:.. =,
'rcsh 49, 49," ',r.a, go 81, ~ h;s unn,h cam,
tuC HtodI CuAC Oit VI uio yVush SeuAs>
pi"s lind it. 1t is the calm Judgment
Sss, I've, those who, as medical msps have o
NeA' I served without prejudice that not
.;op ;op few forms of dyspepsia 'ata Of ne
e,e ~ vous ailments are dae Che use I
! .,am ame such drugs. There.,fs positive ev
uays demce that many o2ssesiled bite
'.oIS' have made many aniniMebriate, ~
80 49, that amodyues have lulled Wultitud
Int of children into brain sdieases
~, -, given a habit of impaired rssia
uoss w ~ ance to the use Of narcotics. II
I, ,h. method Of the English law, whi'
!, ~ w.. revealed the compositi 6iY of snch no
non ,os trums, has fully shown that near
all have 10 specialsi Or permane
y y, "n w value; while those that have q
~ ~, OF nf merely good prescriptions of smine
,no,I w. II. physicians, needing TO- e,ysed vi
" VII aI Intelligent adaptation to, cases
!. !. a., am hand. In the mtefsstS s6f 'pabl
al a.. health, we feel called upon to d.
atom "n" courage the use of such preparation
and to claim that government sheu
p,;,,d e.; u hold stricter scrutiny ioter dru
~" surrounded with the air Of myster
,,i,o certified by the word .patspt, aud
ai.s u. ~: sent into households, as X the 60
s anmss crnment had taken q dose sand be
rich 'e'i'o"' eli
eeus Gus, WHAT JUDGE BLACK THINKS WI
ire to HAPPEN TO SUCH A COM
on BINATION. l7s
ereut