MEDICINES FOR THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
The three complaints listed on the Boschee's German Syrup card all involve coughing and all affect the respiratory system.
The advertisement for Ayer's Cherry Pectoral shown here claims to cure or relieve the symptoms of an even longer list of complaints that affect the throat and lungs. Do you know what all of them are?
Coughs, sore throats, and hoarseness are, of course, still with us, but are now considered symptoms with many possible causes, rather than specific diseases. Bronchitis (inflammation of airways in the lungs) and laryngitis (inflammation of the larynx) also describe conditions that can have many different underlying causes, including infections, allergies, and exposure to pollutants.
"Croup" is inflammation of the upper airways in the lungs and often causes a barking cough and whistling breath. It's most common in infants because their lungs are smaller and so their airways are more likely to become constricted by an inflammation.
The word "catarrh" was used frequently in the 1800s and early 1900s to describe a persistent cold-like state, including a chronic runny and stuffy nose. Again, it describes a condition that can have many underlying causes, although today most cases of catarrh probably would be diagnosed as sinus infections.
We still use the terms "colds" and "influenza" for these common viral diseases, although we more often call influenza by a short form: "flu".
Whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial disease that can be fatal, especially to infants. It is now rare in developed countries because there is a vaccine that protects against it.
And quinsy? It now goes by the name of peritonsillar abscess (PTA) and describes infections that develop in the tissues near the tonsils after an acute attack of tonsillitis. Today, it is treatable with antibiotics, but at the time this trade card was made, it could cause serious complications, such as paralysis of the tongue, and could be fatal.
Ayer's advertises that its product offers "powerful uniform control over all diseases of the throat and lungs". What does that tell you about the way the public of the late 1800s and early 1900s understood illness? How is it different from the way we think about illness now?
Would you buy an over-the-counter product that claimed to cure colds, strep throat, and lung cancer?
