1892: How "Modern Therapeutics" become a "cure-all"
The medical publications playbook hasn't really changed in over 100 years. Plus who actually is the quack?
Today’s Article from the Archives comes from the September 1892 edition of The Homoeopathic Recorder page 206 which you can read here.
The article titled “Modern Therapeutics” is in reference to an article by the same name written by George F. Center, M. D. of Jacksonville, Florida and published in the March 1892 edition of The Medical Summary a monthly journal of practical medicine, new preparations. Dr Center is referencing some “advertising”, a pamphlet, he received which makes bold claims. I took the time to locate article referenced, which you can read in full here.
The homeopathic journal summary, who’s author is not named, makes two point which I drew my attention - and purpose of raising this article.
“Modern therapeutics” used by allopathic doctors were claimed to effectively cure-all.
In this case the focus is on Eucalyptol, which which Dr Center, an “old” allopath, writes:
The…conglomeration of symptoms and diseases, for which that one remedy is recommended by eighty-eight regular physicians of these United States is almost enough to make us think that most disease depend for cure upon that inherent vital principle we sometimes call the vis medicatrix natures, and that patients get well despite the doctor and his "grandest preparations."
He initially states:
I’ll reformat to make clear:
“Please inform us old doctors how we can learn modern therapeutics. I have just received a pamphlet setting forth the virtues of Eucalyptol.
It is a 'germicide, a diuretic, a penetrating, non-coagulant anti- zymotic, a powerful antiseptic, a disinfectant, stimulant, expectorant, anti-spasmodic, an antiphilogistic vulnary,’ and eighty-eight doctors therein extol its virtues for scrofula, kidney troubles, influenza, remittent fever, coryza, aural catarrh, diarrhoea, dysentery, pulmonary abscess, dermoid diseases, eruptive fevers, typhoid fever, ozena, erysipelas, allzymotic diseases, wounds, bruises, sprains, colds, pharyngitis, laryngitis, la grippe, rheumatism, bronchitis, cystitis, gastritis, proctitis, vaginitis, endometritis, leucorrhcea, haemorrhage from the womb and bowels, pneumonia, asthma, diphtheria, bronchorrhcea, gonorrhoea, ophthalmia, throat trouble, headache, neuralgia, malaria, incipient phthisis, hay fever, dyspepsia, alveolar abscesses, diseases of the air passages, ulcerated osuteri, syphilitic rhinitis, a case of syphilis cured in ten days, hysteria, cerebral anaemia, aphonia, renal troubles (sic) varix, right iliac gurgling, scarlatina, purulent otorrhoea, whooping cough, ascaridis, vermiculosis, tonsilitis, fetid breath, enteritis, croup, ulcer of leg, intermittent fever, eczema, chilblains, haemorrhoids, varicose ulcer, and last, but not least, in disorders of the respiratory organs.
Eucalyptus is the desideratum long wished for.' This last absurd travesty on Latin and reliable therapeutics comes from bleeding Kansas."
The “usual routine” for promoting and elevating a “medicine” is not a lot different to methods employed today…and I quote:
There are ninety and nine other proprietory or semi-secret medicines in the regular swim, which are quite as absurd in their claims as the one mentioned by Dr. Center.
With money and gall there is no end to the endorsements that may be secured. Sometimes not much money is needed. The usual routine is to get some one to write up a "scientific" article on the thing to be advertised, giving its merits (almost unlimited) and its limitations (almost nil), and then pay a fat price to some medical journal to publish it as an original paper. If the advertisement is well written, the chances are that it will be copied by other journals as "scientific" matter, much to the profit of the advertiser.
What is describe here, is effectively what Dr Pierre Kory speaks and describes as the playbook utilising today. Utilising the perceived prestige of high powered medical journals and “experts” with credentials to promote a medical narrative - either to elevate a medicine or to discredit another, such as repurposing off-patent drugs - as was done to ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
So when we consider the high mortality rates in the 1800’s, we must consider what drugs the medical men were administering to their sick patients at the time. How many died from the treatment and not the disease?
The homeopath consistently had lower mortality rates, and often that was amongst patients who had sort treatment from an allopath first, so were already very sick by the time the homeopath had a chance to help - as I’ve reported before.
Who are the Quacks?
Now isn’t claiming that a medicine can be used as a cure for almost every ailment the very definition of quackery? It would seem not according to Wikipedia if the medicine or practice is sanctioned by the medical establishment, no matter how absurd the claims.
Curiously, in the very same 1892 edition of The Homeopathic Recorder a little further on, from page 217, is an article titled “Who are the Quacks?”, which draws attention to this point. You can read it here, and I will also transcribe below.
I want to say “let the battle begin”, though it had been raging for decades before this time, and is still happening today…though this was republished from the Eclectic Medical Journal. But lets read shall we:
In the Medical News of May 7th, [1892] I find an original address by George M. Gould, M. D., on the "AEtiology, Diagnosis and Treatment of the Prevalent Epidemic of Quackery," in which he scores Homoeopathy to the quick, and gives moderate notice to other outsiders. It suggests to me the question: "Who are the quacks?" and I propose to show that they are our regular neighbors, of whom George M. Gould, M. D., is a chief.
The Medical News is a representative journal, and is edited by Dr. Gould, and published by the leading medical book house in this country, so that if we find quackery in it, I prove my proposition.
I located the Medical News article referenced above in the archives, you can read it in full yourself, it’s rather long, I won’t transcribe it. You can read it here. It appears that they still don’t understand homeopathy.
In its advertising pages I find twenty-three proprietary medicines and combinations, not one of which can be used by a man who lives up to "the code of ethics," and not one of which I would prescribe or dispense, though I am on the outside. I do not know how Dr. Gould can stand this amount of quackery under his nose, and under his hand, but possibly he employs these proprietary nostrums, as so many of his fellows do. If he does not use the ones he advertises; probably he uses others, so as to make up his score or more.
What shall we say of Antipyrine, Antifebrine, Antikamnia, Sulphonal, et id omne—nostrums one and all, and most dangerous ones at that? Who furnishes a market for them? Our regular quacks. Who patronizes the “Succus Alterans (McDade)." and many more proprietary combinations of similar character and of unknown composition? Our regular quacks who pretend to so much virtue when they make chin-music.
Who glorified Koch, took his statements cum grano sails, and used his nostrum without knowledge, without experiment or experience, to the destruction of many lives ? I wot it was our regular quacks. Who have gone completely crazy over microbes, microorganisms, zymes, phytes, bacilli, etc., and are now commencing to eat humble-pie, as they crawfish out of the trouble? I take it they are our regular quacks.
It certainly is interesting to get a view into the politics and practice “regular” medicine from those times, and this is not coming from a homeopath.
I have lived a good many years, and have had a large experience among medical men, and it is—that the regular physician takes to quackery in his own school as readily as the people take to patent medicine. The Homoeopath is much more ethical, and he wants straight goods, and he must know what they are made of, and how they are made.
I have not mentioned the fact that our regular neighbor endures all kinds of sophistications and adulterations in the ordinary medicines he prescribes with hardly a murmur; that notwithstanding the fact that there is hardly a drug store in the United States that would bear an English, German or French legal inspection, he continues to use the drugs, and with them quacks the public. Please look at your shortcomings through other people's glasses.
—Dr. John M. Scudder, in Eclectic Medical Journal.
I was unable to find this Eclectic journal publication in the archives, though I did locate this 1858 edition which explains what an “Eclectic” is.
Until next time…
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The more I learn about “modern” medicine, the more I realize it’s a miracle if anyone ever gets cured of anything! Two points:
One, my ex husband is a 71 yr old practicing physician and he repeatedly complains about young doctors coming out of medical school. His biggest complaint is they’re more focused on pharmacological interventions than curative ones.
Two: there are cures, certainly. For instance, I’ve had a hip replacement and that was a cure as I’m now able to walk again. On the other hand, months ago I went to my primary care doc because my blood pressure felt high. It was and he told me not to worry about losing weight or changing my life style, just take this BP medicine and press on. I fired him, because I knew I needed to loose weight and didn’t want to start a lifetime of drugs. My new doctor was the complete opposite. I’ve lost the weight and my BP is normal and zero drugs. Pharmacy wasn’t the answer!
We have to be smart enough to gain some understanding of our own health before we blindly trust anyone else just because they wear a white coat! We should have learned THAT over the last four years, if nothing else!
I read two books about vaccines The Moth in the Iron Lung and Dissolving Illusions. Apart from learning that almost everything we have been told about vaccines is false I was also stunned that exactly the same playbook they used with COVID had been used over and over again.