Old Over-the-Counter Medicines

Today is National "Old Stuff Day." I had no idea there was such a day, but it seems ideal for me. I like old stuff, and I have a lot of it. It's accumulated over my lifetime, and some have been handed down by relatives. Since I have so much, I'm just focusing on old over-the-counter medicines in this blog.

At one time, especially in the country, families took care of many of their own medical problems. Part of this came from the fact that getting to a doctor was often inconvenient, but part of it came from a mistrust of doctors handed down through the generations. Many felt that going to a doctor meant you were close to death, and a hospital was a place you went to die. 

There were even peddlers that included medicines, like pills, tonics, and salves, in their inventory. I can remember my grandparents buying Rosebud salve this way, but there were other popular brands also. 

At one time, some people brushed their teeth with dental powders, not exactly a medicine, but clean teeth could prevent health problems. There were even specialty medicines, like Ramon's Brownie Pills, a diuretic. And, of course, people kept pain-relievers like aspirin on hand. For more about medicine men tonics, see my earlier blog on Doc Tom Scott. 

  

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