A part of D'Angelo Library's Special Collections include doctor bags filled with old medicines and collections of different types of medicines. In any archive, safety is important to remember and the stability of materials has to be weighed against its historical value to the collection. The substances we have in the Special Collections range from the late 19th century to the early 70s, so we see many interesting ingredients, both safe and toxic that show the evolution of pharmaceutical therapies.
Chloroform is one substance that we deemed to be unsafe to keep in the collection, due to its toxicity and instability. Its first clinical use was in 1874; however, it was banned in 1978 due to the many deaths it caused when better alternatives arose. (Aronson, 2023) This, along with other hazardous materials at KCU, are safely disposed of in cooperation with the security department and outside organizations trained to handle them.
Mercury was another common ingredient that is too harmful to remain in the Special Collections, although for "more than 3,000 years, mercury and its derivatives have been used as anti-parasitic drugs, anti-syphilis, antipruritic, antiseptics, anti-inflammatory drugs, diuretics, dental amalgams, and substitutes." (Zhao & Wang, 2022)
The collection has a wide array of different treatments that would highlight the need for Osteopathy, which in its earliest days was promoted as an alternative to the many harmful "cures" prescribed by early medical practitioners.
References
Aronson, J. K. (2023). When I use a word . . . Medicines regulation—chloroform. BMJ (Online), 383, 2905–2905. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p2905
Zhao, M., Li, Y., & Wang, Z. (2022). Mercury and Mercury-Containing Preparations: History of Use, Clinical Applications, Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Pharmacokinetics in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 13, 807807-. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.807807
0 Comments.