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Vapours, gargles, darts and bougies: Victorian ENT treatments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2012

J Montgomery  and
A Robertson
J Montgomery*
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, Scotland, UK
A Robertson
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, Scotland, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Miss J Montgomery, Department of ENT, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Corsebar Road, Paisley PA2 9PN, Scotland, UK E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background:

Sir Morell Mackenzie (1837–1892), the pre-eminent early laryngologist in the UK, is nowadays perhaps better remembered for his role in the management of the Crown Prince of Germany in 1887, than for his major contribution to the development of laryngology as a specialty. In this article we focus upon his text The Pharmacopoeia of the Hospital for Diseases of the Throat (fourth edition), and attempt a comparison of Victorian ENT treatments with today's management of ENT diseases.

Treatments:

Some of these Victorian treatments bear a resemblance to modern day practices. Others have not withstood the test of time, in particular: silver nitrate sticks for syphilitic ulcers of the larynx (not epistaxis); nebulised sulphuric acid, which was used as a stimulant; nasal bougies, including scotch pine and lead acetate; chloroform vapour for the treatment of hay fever; ‘London paste’, a non-surgical treatment for the reduction of the tonsils, (which was perhaps the Victorian equivalent of coblation); and zinc chloride darts, which were plunged into intractable goitres.

Conclusion:

Some of these remedies bear no resemblance to today's evidence-based practices, while other treatments (such as silver nitrate) are still in common use. In Victorian times, however, Mackenzie's books were widely read throughout Europe and were the standard references for a specialty in its infancy. The Pharmacopoeia was published in 1872, and major advances in medicine have been made since then. We have no way of knowing which treatments in today's British National Formulary will still be in use in 140 years.

Keywords

History Of MedicineOtolaryngologyHistory, 19th CenturySilver NitrateUnited Kingdom
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 126 , Issue 11 , November 2012 , pp. 1159 - 1163
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2012

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Footnotes

Presented at the joint meeting of the British Society for the History of ENT and The Royal Society of Medicine, Otology Section, 24 September 2010, London, UK

References

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