Patent Medicines, also known as proprietary medicines, nostrums, cure-alls, or snake oils, were popular medications that took advantage of the lack of federal regulations in the 1800s and early 1900s. The name, originating from the “Royal Letters Patent” in England, is a misnomer in modern American language, as no patent was given to these medicines. Instead, they were proprietary, meaning their ingredients were kept secret. The creators of these medicines were not doctors or pharmacists, but instead businessmen with often no medical training. Due to the excessive cost to see physicians, many Americans turned to these “cure-alls” which claimed to heal catarrh, ague (malaria), consumption (Tuberculosis), cough, headache, cancer, “female complaints,” and more. It is unknown how many died due to the contents of these medications which often included alcohol, arsenic, opium, mercury, cocaine, cannabis, and chloroform.
