Sentence:  I stammered out some few halting words of congratulation and then sat downcast, with my head drooped, deaf to the babble of our new acquaintance. He was clearly a confirmed hypochondriac, and I was dreamily conscious that he was pouring forth interminable trains of symptoms, and imploring information as to the composition and action of innumerable quack <WSD>nostrums</WSD>, some of which he bore about in a leather case in his pocket. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to have any desirable medical effects.