The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-26

OF medicines, and ne is better qualified.
Ior ANALYSIS than for practical work.
chemistry enters more into the work
OF the druggist now than it did then
Inc whole science of medicine has chang
ed, and II is enough 20 make the hair of
an old-time druggist stand on end to see
the doses of strychHine, arsenic and nuX
Nomica that are given. Forty years ago
an ounce of strychnine would last a
druggist 10 years, and now he will use
1t in month. The old-time druggist
would not have put up such prescriptions
as are sent to him now If the physician
mad stood over him and told him every
ingredient. A druggist@is not supposed
now to know anything about the pre-
scription seems to call for something
That he does not think right, it makes no
dlnerence; he must put it up or he is
held responsible.
There was an interesting case of this
Kind number Of years ago in England.
A physician gave prescription in which
there was an extra amount of digitalis,
which is used to stimulate the heart
Tue prescription was taken to seven
druggists before it was filed. The first
SIX refused to put up the drug as the
prescription called for it, The seventh
die, but the patient died. The case was
taken to the court, and it was decided
that if the prescription had been filled
m time the patient would have lived, and
the six druggists were fined Similar
cases have been tried in the Supreme
Court here. The physician is protected
by law, but no one can understand the
anxiety these excessive doses give the
druggist 1t is always possible that a
mistake has been made.
Now that we have telephones. we ran
telephone to a physician to verify the pre-
scflption, but before we would hunt all
day sometimes to find a man. They Go
not always like it, and some think that
the question reflects upon their Judgment
but many physicians are very thankful. l
remember one case in 1850 We received
prescription for a child which called for
what seemed an excessive dose. The pre-
scription was brought to US in the morn
ing, and all that day we hunted the ply
sician, and finally found him at night in
the academy of music. He wanted to know
If we had filled the prescription, and was
very glad that we had not. We had
told the family in the meantime that we
did not have the ingredients for filing
the prescription and had sent out for
them. So no harm was done in any way.
In the old days a druggist who under
stood prescribing could get much better
position and make a bigger salary than
one who did not. In advertising for
man we would frequently call for one
capable of prescribing.
1--WE used to vaccinate occasionally, but
there was not so much of it done then.
when we had a good, healthy patient we
would ask them to come back When the
sore came to a head so that we could get
a few points. or we would take the whole
scab. Then we would mix it UP with
little water on a glass plate with knife
inc oil
at that time-tell people we had Virus
from a healthy person, and vaccinate
perhaps dozen people.
There is no doubt, though, that good
many diseases were disseminated in this
way and there are many people to-day
who date ailments of their own and the
deaths of their children to vaccination,
and undoubtedly with reason. People
don't really understand that only COW
virus is used now. If they did l think
there would be less opposition to vaccina
ton, though, for my part, l don't see why
tuberculosis should not be disseminated
in that way.
eve used to use great many ieeches
We would use from 80 to 100 in month
and in blood letting often take one or
two quarts of blood from a person.
don't think it did any harm to full
blooded person People ate coarser foods
in those days. more pork and oatmeal
If man got into row and had black
eye, the first thing he would do would be
to go to the druggist and have two or
three leeches put on to take away the
blood Or leeches were put on for head
ache. or for the earache or tOothache. A
woman would come in with a terrible
headache, sit down in chair in the store,
and have two or three leeches put on
each temple, and she would be relieved in
short time. Or they would be put be-
hind the ear for the earache, or on the
gums for a toothache
mo, women didn't mind ii. 1t was like
having tooth puiled-anything was bet
ter than the pain and they would have
their minds made up to it before they
would come 1t took me six hours to put
leeches on a woman's gum once. She
was woman belonging to wealthy fam
lily in the neighborhood. She had an Ill
cerated tooth and sent for me to bring
the leeches. The gums were swollen and
sore the patient would not allow them
to be lanced. and it was hard for the
leeches to get to work. Finally they were
started and / wanted to go home. l had
not had my supper But the woman would
not hear of my leaving her with those
ieeches in her mouth, and l had to wait.
1t was u O'Clock when l left the house
that night There was no restaurant
around here in those days, not even
bakehouse There was one man who had
opened an oyster-house in connection WITH
a saloon He had twelve oysters left, and
he let me have six of those, but l went
to bed pretty hungry
How much did | get for that? Well,
we charged y cents apiece for the leeches,
and there We're two of them, and l asked
25 cents for applying them-49 cents. Doc
tors were glad to get 80 cents visit at
that time and l have had a doctor, who
afterward became famous and would not
take less than SO for an office call, thank
me for sending him patient from whom
he received 81.
"Leeches are stll used in country PAGES;
where they are taken from the ponds,
though we always used the Swedish
-ieeches. In many of the poorer neighbor-
hoods, particularly where there are
good many brawls, they still use the leech-
es for black eyes.
For regular blood letting an incision
was made in a vein in the arm and as
much blood was let as seemed necessary
to relieve the patient. That was a regu-
lar spring and fall medicine that many
people took as their sulphur and molasses.
/ don't know why it should have been
injurious as a remedy. Depressing medi-
cines are now given TO lessen the action
Of the heart in case of a fever, and
don't know that there is any more harm
in the one than in the other.
for the sulDnur and n1Olasgps tbero