A comparison of the contents of today's medicine cabinets with those of a century and a half ago will interest contemporary pediatricians because almost all the items formerly recommended for the treatment of the sick child have not been mentioned in any textbook of pediatrics for many years. Have we lost something by discarding some of these drugs? The following items were considered necessary in 1820 if there were children in the home:
Alum
Aether
Blister Plaister [sic]
Borax
Castor Oil
Calomel
Cream of Tartar
Diluted Vitriolic Acid
Epsom Salts
Gum Arabic Powder
Jalap Powder
Ipecacuanha Powder
Laudanum
Magnesia
Nitre
Prepared Kali
Rhubarb
Spirit of Hartshorn
Spermaceti Cerate
Sweet Spirit of Nitre
Tincture of Myrrh
Turner's Cerate
Antimonial Powder
Aromatic Confection
Yellow Basilicon