Self medication During the Civil War

[Charles W. Mood]

While reading the personnal letters of then Capt Jesse Gove in the book "The Utah Expedition 1857-1858" I came upon the following entry dated 22 June, 1857 from the steamer "Cal Crossman" on the Missouri River:

"What I write you now mostly for is for you to send me a book and a small case of such remedies as I want most, viz., for bilious diseases - diarrhea, dysentry, cholera, fever, etc. I want them as preventatives, I have plenty of nux vomica and sulphur. I want veratrum, mercurious vicuis, aconite, belladonna, and such like. The Dr. will know what I wish, a small packet case."

Most of these"medications" are unfamiliar to me and sound down right nasty! Does anyone else know of officers or enlisted self medicating. Also are there any medical experts out there who can comment on these medicines?

Note:
Jesse Gove ended up as a Colonel of the 22nd Mass Volunteers and was killed at the battle of Gaines Mill, Va., June 27, 1862.

Chuck Mood
LtColMood@aol.com

[tenfed1861]

Re: Self medication During the Civil War

Found this on drug.com about belladonna.It may explain some usages for belladonna:http://www.drugs.com/mtm/belladonna.html
Hope this helps.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Self medication During the Civil War

You can look them up here, in the 1858 U.S. Dispensatory, by putting them in the search bar on this page:

http://books.google.com/books?id=KUsQAAAAYAAJ
They're all fairly common. The only one I don't recognize is mercurious [mercurius] vicuis. Mercury in all its forms was very common, but I don't recognize vicuis. Maybe someone can figure out a typo or misspelling?

To try to put this in period context, this would be like someone writing home for Tylenol, Pepto-Bismol and Claritin today. I guess that's "self-medicating," but most people would just think of it as a normal medicine kit, and that's probably what he thought of it as. Since one didn't need a prescription to legally purchase medicines (in general--I think there may have been some minor legal restrictions on some poisons), the line was blurrier between scary medicines that only a doctor could let you have, and ordinary medicines that you'd buy whenever you knew you needed them, based on past experience of them working.

As far as the medicines being nasty, well, yes, medicine was just coming off the heroic era when large doses of really nasty stuff was administered, but in my opinion, focussing on that part just emphasizes one's modern mindset and keeps one farther from understanding the mindset of the past. The more one tries to picture a world in which these medicines seemed as normal and useful as, say, chemotherapy medicines do today, despite their side effects, the more one can start to understand 19th century people. (Unless you're portraying a hydropath/hygienist--that's a whole different story then.)

Just occurred to me, if he's saying "mercurius vivus"--which is pretty far off from vicuis, so I wouldn't assume he was--that's either an odd request for elemental mercury, or he's a homeopath, which is a whole 'nuther kind of period medicine and not quite as nasty (or very effective) at all, since the medicines were diluted until they were mostly water.

(Mercurious--that's my word for the day. "I'm not really a homeopath, I'm just mercurious." )

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[Andrew German]

Re: Self medication During the Civil War

Greetings:

I'd say Civil War soldiers were quick to self-medicate in that age of patent medication, when the four humors were still part of diagnosis and cupping and bleeding were still used as medical treatments.

Here are a couple of requests from 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry troopers in early 1862:
“Send me some Blue Mass in the letter,” requested Wilmer Hall. “Here the Doc will not give us any Blue Mass.” A concoction of mercury, confection of roses, and licorice root, blue mass, or massa hydrargyri, was commonly taken for digestive complaints as both a liver stimulant and a cathartic. Eli Forsyth requested “Ayers Cathartic Pills” from home. “Will Craft had a lot sent him and he gave me a box and it has done me more good than all the medicine in America.”

I suppose it was a form of homeopathy as both mercury and lead played a prominent role in some of the antidotes. It's a wonder they survived.

Andrew German

[Hank Trent]

Re: Self medication During the Civil War

I suppose it was a form of homeopathy as both mercury and lead played a prominent role in some of the antidotes. It's a wonder they survived.

Can you explain how you reached that conclusion?

Homeopathy was a distinct, separate system. Though homeopathy used mercury, lead, and most of the same ingredients as allopathic (regular) medicine, it used them in miniscule amounts, sometimes so small that none of the active ingredient remained in the preparation. Blue mass was not typically a homeopathic preparation, and in fact it was very typical of allopathy. If a man wrote home asking for blue mass, I'd expect him to be following allopathic medicine, barring some other evidence.

The fact that he complained the doctor wouldn't give him blue mass is interesting, on a couple counts. One, it shows that people were actually seeking out the old heroic medicinesthey grew up with (or older family members grew up with), while the doctor was following the newer practice of prescribing less mercury. So people actually believed these medicines helped and wanted to take more of them, despite the side effects--the mindset I mentioned in my previous post about how these medicines seemed normal and helpful to a lot of 19th century people.

Also, it shows the changing times. The following year, Surgeon General Hammond would remove calomel (another form of mercury) from the supply table, to further the move away from over-prescribing mercury. Despite the fairly limited scope of the order--since it could be gotten by special requisition and other forms of mercury remained--many military doctors rebelled, but it sounds like the 1st PA Cavalry doctor would have supported the move.

To clarify, I should add that when we're talking about smaller doses or less mercury in allopathic medicine, even the smaller dose is much, much larger than what a homeopath would prescribe, and the reason for prescribing and the philosophy behind the treatment would be entirely different.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[CL Preston]

Re: Self medication During the Civil War

I used to work in a store that sold homeopathic remedies, and all of the listed items are still used as such. You can find a reprint of Hahnemann's Materia Medica on Google Books, and it contains all of these except Mercurius Vivus (though it does have other Mercurius varieties), which I found in a later homeopathic handbook:

Every organ and tissue of the body is more or less affected by this powerful drug; it transforms healthy cells into decrepit, inflamed and necrotic wrecks, decomposes the blood, producing a profound anemia. This malignant medicinal force is converted into useful life saving and life preserving service if employed homeopathically, guided by its clear cut symptoms. The lymphatic system is especially affected with all the membranes and GLANDS, and internal organs, bones, etc. Lesions produced by Mercurius Vivus very similar to those of syphilis. Very often indicated in the Secondary stage of syphilis when there is a febrile chloro-anaemia, rheumatoid pains behind sternum, around joints, etc.; ulceration of mouth and throat, etc. These are the special conditions and stages to which Mercur is homeopathic and where the 2X will do surprising work. Again, hereditary syphilis manifestations, are within its range; bullae, abscesses, snuffles, marasmus, stomatitis or destructive inflammations. TREMORS everywhere. Weakness with ebullitions and tremblings from least exertion. All mercury symptoms are Worse at night, from warmth of bed, from damp, cold, rainy weather, Worse during perspiration. Complaints increase with the sweat and rest; all associated with a great deal of weariness, prostration, and trembling. A human "thermometer." Sensitive to heat and cold. Parts are much swollen, with raw, sore feeling; the profuse, oily perspiration does not relieve. BREATH, excretions of the body smell foul. Tendency to formation of pus, which is thin, greening, putrid; streaked with blood.
WORSE, at night, wet, damp weather, lying on right side, perspiring; warm room and warm bed.

I know homeopathy was popular enough to spawn homeopathic hospitals in 19th century America, so I wouldn't be surprised if that is what he was asking about.