Herbs, bark and humbug; Nineteenth century domestic medicine

The nineteenth century in England was one of vast political, social and economic change. It saw the development of an Empire, the urbanisation of the masses and an industrial revolution; ultimately the progression of England and its people into what we would now recognise as modern daily life.

 

In this respect, medicine was no exception and it was this century that saw the development of germ theory, vaccinations and the stethoscope amongst numerous other advances. Although much of today’s professional medicine was beginning to develop, it remains true, however, that the majority of day-to-day illnesses in Georgian and Victorian England was fought with the home’s domestic pharmacy; a widely available selection of herbs and tinctures being used to treat coughs, colds and the first symptoms of more serious illnesses.

 

The Bevan letters touch upon, on several occasions, the application of this kind of domestic medicine, as Charlotte goes about administering different remedies to her children. These entries highlight just how integrated this practise was into everyday Georgian life. With so much ‘first aid’ being dispensed at home, it is interesting to ask how much of the Bevan family’s medicinal know-how was based on sound principles.

 

In her letter of 3 September 1824, Louisa Bevan references the use of [1] as a medicine, noting that ‘Mrs Farr's health has been so much improved by taking a bitter, made by a relation of hers, that she has been most anxious that you should try them’. Louisa goes on to report: ‘Mrs Farr says a poor man, of her own knowledge, was thought to be going fast, and is by these , restored to perfect health’. These extracts illustrate how much of domestic medicine in the nineteenth century was in fact spread by personal communication and how little was established by more scientific principles.

 

One of the most regularly mentioned treatments within the letters is that of which, appears throughout the course of the correspondence (21 August and 11 September 1824 and 17 and 18 August 1831).

 

is a plant that was administered traditionally in a glass of milk and was thought to have strong nutritional and nurturing properties and was used ‘to build up those who had been ill and were too weak to eat solid foods’[2]. It has more recently been revealed, however, that contains less calories that a carrot and has almost no nutritional value whatsoever, which would explain why the condition of Charlotte’s daughter Bessie does not improve.

However, it is important to note that not all of their remedies were useless placebos. The mentioned in Sibella C. Dewar’s first letter of 16 December 1856, would have most likely been willow which has been found to contain salicylic acid, the basis of the active ingredient used in aspirin today. Another product with real efficacy is , more commonly known as marsh woundwort, which Charlotte describes as ‘good for strains, bruises and wounds’ in her letter of 3 August 1829. This plant has indeed been found to have real antiseptic properties.

 

Many effective medicines in regular use during the 19^th century were based on opiates. In her letter of 21 June 1834, Charlotte says of treating her baby daughter Bessie: “I now doctor her myself and as is the basis of most cough mixtures I give her about 30-40 drops twice a day”. While this treatment would certainly have calmed Bessie, we now understand that the administration of opium in this way caused increased infant mortality, as it would suppress a child’s natural appetite and result in death via long-term malnutrition.

 

Mercury, lead and cocaine were also used regularly in over the counter medicines. This is illustrated in the poster for cocaine toothache drops reproduced with this article, which is dated as late as 1885. In reviewing the letters and 19^th century medical practice it becomes clear that while this century was one of astounding advancement in terms of the understanding of medicine and disease, in the home it was still very much a place of remedies borne out of herbs and other plants, some much more effective than others.

The additional images below, showing patent medicines of the 19^th century, are taken from newspapers held in The Regency Town House archive.

 
























[1] http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?Id=884
[2] www.newstatesman.com/200110290039 (viewed on the 6th Feb 2009)