A Long Way from Leeches

Pharmacies have certainly come a long way since leeches, cocaine toothache drops, miracle elixirs and tonics.

In days of yore, the pharmacist or apothecary was as likely to sell "love-drawing powder", gold-plated pills or opium-soaked tampons as herbs and minerals for health, the Guardian has reported, following a visit to the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum. Tampons were apparently commonly used to deliver therapies such as opium or belladonna to relieve pain and relax the vagina, the author said.

The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, which opened in 1950, celebrates the business of the first licensed pharmacist in the US, Louis J Dufilho Jr, who was educated at the College of Pharmacy in Paris and opened his own pharmacy in 1823 in a classic Creole-American townhouse.

Many therapies involved 25% (or higher) alcohol together with opiate, a museum spokesperson told the Guardian.

Another good reason to stay healthy.

Source: Pharmacydaily.com.au, Wednesday 21 January 2015