Omaha daily bee., 1886-09-15
PEOPLE WHO DOCTOR THEM
SELVES
They Make Business Brisk for Man
ufacturers of Patent Medicines.

They Make Business Brisk for Nam
ufacturers Of Patent Medicines.
more people doctor themselves than
you would imagine said druggist TO Il
reporter for The Brooklyn Eagle. The
craze AT present is Tor patent medicines.
The great reduction in the price of all
proprietary articles has induced many in
valids, or individuals who suppose they
are i'll, TO give up patronlzing physicians
and try the many nestrums with when
the market is flooded. / have not Kept
track of the number of patent medicines
in the market in recent years, but the
last time ] gave my attention to the sub
iect there were over 100000 proprietary
medicines manufactured Din the United
Stats. A drug store Is great resort Tor
hypochondriacs. Here men talk by the
hour OF their various ailments which are
of no interest to me, but which | am
obliged to listen or else lose the sick
man 5 custom"
What class purchase patent medl-
cines?"
''All classes, of course, but proprietary
medicines to greater or less extent, but
the largest trade in them is done with
elderly men. When a man reaches, say
sixty wears he usually has some ailment
which may either be triiling or serious.
At all events, after the first symptoms
present themselves he makes careful
diagnosis of his case and HES him to the
druggist. The pill manufacturer pa
tientIy listens TO the customers state
| ment OF his ills and prescribes a remedy
usually one OF his own preparations.
| Why? Because the profits on the drug
gist's goods are 100 per cent more than
on others. Probably the remedy pur
chased benefits the patient, but the
| chances are THAT Il doesn t.
Would you recommend individuals
who are sick to do tAeir own dontoring-
Certainly not. 80 man cal tell the
nature of his disease. A symptom or
symptoms may Indicate dozen different
| diseases, and when 4 man is taking
| liuer inyigorator he may be suffering
| from kidney trouble. 1t is the height Of
! folly for one to buy a proprietary tonic,
the ingredients of which are the poorest
and cheapest quality. Does ii stand to
| reason that patent medicine firm would
| put high-priced wine in a beef, iron and
| wine tome? No. The wine used is gen
| orally the cheapest kind of sherry, and ]
| shudder when think of the extract of
| beef and iron used. The same principle
| applies to all proprietary articles in
| which alcohol is supposed TO enter. But
| few bitters or nervines contain much al
| cohol, but are mainly composed of cheap
| qualities of French spirits. Good alco-
| hol costs money, and is far too dear to be
| used in patent medicines which sell at 81
| per bottle.
What class of patent medicines has
! the largest sale?" was asked.
Different articles are manufactured at
| various seasons. For instance, in the
| summer months sarsaDarillas and ginger
tonics have the call, while in cold
weather cough syrup and consumption
cures are largely sold, You would be
surprised to know the number of RENE
| dies for coughs and colds sold in Brook
lyn from November to June. They are
of various kinds, good, bad and indifier-
emit the latter predomlnating. Do think
| syrups can cure consumptiOnY No, sir.
They no doubt relieve the sufferer and
loosen the cough, but in many instances
| coughs are temporarily dried up by their
I Sc, only to break out again more Sc
verely than before.
How do homeopathic medicines
sellY'
Poorly. What man originally from
| the county will ever forget his mothers
medicine chest and the good woman 5
catnip tea and mustard plasters? How,
on the first symptoms OF disease in any
of her loved ones, she hastens 10 the well
thumbed and ancient medicine book, 10
Gates the malady, and prescribes the
! remedy? The day of the homeopathic
medicine chest has, ! think, passed. At
| any rate, homeopathy Is not praCuced
as much in Brooklyn as formerly. But
whether the remedies which our mothers
| prescribed were eificacious or not ] don /
| pretend to know, but any way we most
always get well. Good care and nursing
go great way in the treatment OF dis
| ease
The reporters informant, who, in ad-
dition to being druggist Is also physl-
clan, continuing, said. In the sleepy
Long Island village in which was born,
our doctor combined the duties of physl-
clan with those of dominic. His Enowl-
edge of the bible far exceeded that of
materia mediea. The first body was dis
sected in this country in Philadelphia, in
1850, and from that date until 1867, when
the first medical school was established
in New York, but little progress was
made in the study of medical scien G.
The strides made IN the profession have
been phenomenal, but nothing compared
10 what viii be discovered by future
| generations.
Don I druggists often compound their
own prescriptions.
Yes, but if caught they are liable to
Imprisonment have diploma and
can prescribe for a patient, and then
compound my own prescription. Drug
glsts are very careful in prescribing and
are fully aware of the penalty Tor SO
doing.
Billy Thompson, one of the popular
| young men OF Denver, who has been
visiting his friend, j. T. kerns in this
-. 4 Ir.Ts