Page 14 - Pharmacy History 31 Mar 2007

(Cont. from page 13)
• Black haw, Viburnum prunifolium, (Syn. Stagbush), it acts as a uterine sedative and as an analgesic as the stem bark contains salacin.
• Unicorn root, Chamaelirium luteum, (Syn. Fairy wand), the rhizomes and root was used
to produce astringents, bitter, diuretic, ovarian and uterine tonic. It was also taken as a general tonic and to expel intestinal parasites.
• Squaw vine, Mitchella repens, (Syn. Partridge Berry), taken internally for menstrual disorders, preparation for childbirth, labour pains, nervous exhaustion and irritability.
• Cascarilla, Croton eleutiria, the aromatic bark was used for digestive upsets and to flavour tobacco.
• Jamaica dogwood, Piscidia piscipula (Syn. Fish Poison Tree), used for whooping cough, asthma and neuralgia. Also used to treat migraine, nervous exhaustion, painful menstruation, threatened miscarriage and post-partum pain.
• Rhubarb and cascara aromaticus, were added for their laxative properties and as flavouring. The recommended dose was one tablespoonful (15ml) four times a day (Anyone for a gin and tonic!).
Another product that was marketed before the Nyal Prescription was called Womanton. It was claimed to contain the finest vegetable extracts in a highly concentrated form and it was recommended for a raft of conditions to restore the worn out, run down, nervous woman.
The suggested dose was again one tablespoonful (15ml) four times a day, with the added proviso that
one bottle of medicine, or a week’s treatment, could not possibly relieve all the troubles. At least six bottles of the medicine was necessary for the best result (at a discount of course!). As the 20th century waned, the marketing of patent medicines had
become more sophisticated and suggestive. Burgeoning pharmacy shelves, as well as those of the supermarkets and nutritional retailers all compete for the tired and fatigued woman who is seeking a quick return to full health and vitality.
that had been written in 1926 by Dr James Sprent, a Hobart general practitioner.Dr Sprent’s views
and medical advice given nearly 80 years ago to women, in some circumstances, perhaps is equally applicable but not as socially acceptable today as it was in the 1920s.
His compassion and understanding of women’s problems would have been gratifying to those women who were his patients during his lifetime practice of medicine in Hobart. He provided sound and prudent medical advice on the subject of women’s health at a time when ignorance abounded in a society that was still suffering from Victorian attitudes and values.
Modern reader will appreciate the wisdom experience and humanity of a general practitioner who wished to make information available to the young married woman of his era.
This book is a period piece and a genuine historical record of the social mores of the 1920s, and should be in every medical historian’s library.
It is not an expensive little publication of 136 pages with an index and it can be obtained from the publisher Myola House Publishing, 397 Wellington Street, South Launceston, Tasmania 7349.
14 ■ Pharmacy History Australia
volume 3 ■ no 31 ■ MARCH 2007
Post script
A book for women
In 2006, two Tasmanian historians, Dr Philip Thomson and Paul A.C. Richards published a manuscript