Antique eye medications

The history of eye medications goes back to 1500 B.C., documented by the Ancient Egyptians. Many popular remedies included saltpeter, soda, red oxide of mercury, frankincense, fennel and alcohol. Later, during the period of Hippocrates, one treatment for trachoma was Verdigris, myrrh, onions, and gazelle dung painted on the eyes with the feather of a vulture! Crazy, huh? Well, things didn’t get get much better than that afterwards. During medieval times, one prescription called for the urine of an innocent boy mixed in a brass pot with honey. Not until the 1800s did things start to get a little more reasonable, with the use of belladonna, opium, morphine, cocaine, and many other wholesome poisons and addictive drugs.

Prior to 1906, there was little to no control over the drug industry. “Snake oils”, nostrums, and quackery were rampant. The companies could say their drugs cured everything and had no side effects, with no repercussions. In 1906 congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, requiring companies to say what drugs/ingredients were in their product. Many of the medications in my collection are prior to 1906, and it is quite humorous to see all of the claims made by these companies.

Rare bottle of Dr. Thompson’s Eye Water, c. 1870. Dr. Thompson created his Eye Water in 1795. He touted his concoction as a quick and efficicient treatment for all common complaints of the eye. Note the ingredients include 10% alcohol and opium! The label warning says, “may be habit forming”! There is a bottle exactly like this one on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

**Dr. Pomroy’s eye salve cures all ailments of the eye, from any cause! Wow!! For only 25 cents!**
**Circa 1850-1870**

**Southerland’s Eagle Eye Ointment, with morphine, c. 1906. A tube like this is also in the Smithsonian Museum of American History.**

**Assortment of porcelain miniature pots for eye salves. These were popular in Victorian era England, not only for eye ointments, but toothpastes, skin creams, etc…**

Set of Narcissa Waterman’s Eye Remedy, c. 1892, one for green eyes and one for brown eyes. Made in Southern Ohio. Not sure if there was one for blue eyes. She would run this guarantee “I will give $500 to any one producing a remedy that has been more successful in the treatment of granulated sore lids, red inflamed eyes, weak watery eyes or scrofulous sore eyes, poisoned eyes and scum over eyeball, snow blindness, wild hairs”. No one knew what was in it. She claimed to cure all eye ailments!

**Eye drops No. 1. A double whammy of cocaine AND mercury. Not only dangerous, but also sold over the counter in Victorian era London!**

Eye-lash-ine was developed in 1916. In 1918, a gentleman named Tom Williams manufactured a similar compound, called Lash-brow-ine. Eventually he was ordered to discontinue the name due to trademark infractions. He renamed his product after his sister Mabel, and called it Maybelline. The rest is history. Maybelline is now one of the largest cosmetic companies in the world, owned by L’Oreal.

**Unopened wooden box of Dr. Pettit’s American eye water, with morphine and acetanilide(an analgesic). Very rare to find on unopened and 120 years old.**

**Dr. Agnew’s eye water from c.1870s. Dr Agnew claimed to be “America’s greatest surgeon”. He died in 1888.**

**Here are some more of the many eye medications hawking cures for vision and eye ailments from the late 1800s and early 1900s**

**Some eye medications were very versatile. This one cured sore eyes, ring worm, fever blisters and sore nipples!!**

**This is a traveling ophthalmic medication kit with 8 different eye meds plus a miniature pair of tweezers for foreign body removal. Shown actual size!**

Made by A.H. Nye of Emory, Virginia, owner of the Nye Medicine Company, c.1862. Eventually taken over by the Stephenson Medicine Company, who made bitters and sasparilla during Prohibition, both which contained a high percentage of alcohol.

**Antique apothecary jar for aceclidinum, the Latin name for** ***Aceclidine***, **a glaucoma medication, circa 1906**

**Late 1800s bottle of “Ozark Eye Strengthener”, embossed with trademark eagle. The purple color was achieved by adding manganese to the molten glass and exposing it to sunlight**.

Bon-Opto for the eyes came in pill form to mix your own solution. As with most medications from the turn of the century, it claimed to do many things it couldn’t. It was eventually sued by a woman who claimed it did permanent damage to her eyes.

Dr. Jacob Becker’s Celebrated Eye Balsam, established in 1805. In 1933 they were found in violation of the Food and Drug act of 1906 for misbranding. It was determined that all it contained was ”mercury, finely ground sand and fat”! Ultimately the product was seized and destroyed by the U.S. Marshals.

Humphrey’s Homeopathic No. 18. “for inflamed eyelids”. Fredrick Humphrey founded his homeopathic medicine company in 1853. Although homeopathy has been shown to have no medicinal value, he made a fortune on sales of his product.

These eyestones, dated 1805, were designed as a remedy for foreign objects in the eye, such as cinders or pieces of dirt. They were flat on one side and convex on the other, and most often made of seashells. One would place them in their eye and move it around in an attempt to dislodge the object. They were also considered a type of homeopathy like above. Needless to say, it is not a recommended way of dealing with a foreign body.

Murine is one of the few, if only, pre-1906 eye medications still on the market today. Its name comes from its active ingredient, muriate of berberine. It was started in 1897.