Enovid contraceptive pills, 1964
More medicine for women
Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound (on this page, right below) - Cardui - Dr. Grace Feder Thompson's letter appealing for patients - Dr. Pierce's medicines - Dr. E. C. Abbey's The Sexual System and Its Derangements (1882) - Dr. Young's rectal dilators - Orange Blossom medicine.
Ad for the Australian Myzone menstrual pain pills (1952).
Boxes of old American patent medicine, some with medicine, associated with women's health:
Dr. Pierre's Boro-Pheno-Form and introduction to patent medicine | Chichesters English Diamond Brand Pennyroyal Pills | Midol tin boxes | Murray & Nickell Blue Cohosh Root | Murray & Nickell Cotton Root Bark | Allaire Woodward & Co. Oak Bark-White | Wampole's Vaginal Cones with Picric Acid | Humphreys "31" | Orange Blossom Suppositories | Dr. Pierce's Vaginal Tablets | Micajah's Medicated Wafers | Santrex Formula 52T | Sedets
See an ad for Dr. Schenk's Mandrake Pills, appearing on a trade card for journalist Nellie Bly.
See also PMS Crunch.
HOMEPAGE
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
HOMEPAGE |
MUM address & What does MUM mean? |
Email the museum |
Privacy on this site |
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Amazing women! |
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Words and expressions about menstruation |
Would you stop menstruating if you could? |
What did women do about menstruation in the past? |
Washable pads |
Read 10 years (1996-2006) of articles and Letters to Your MUM on this site.
Leer la versión en español de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación.

Ad for Ergoapiol, treatment for painful or missing menstrual periods or other irregularities of the menstrual cycle - or for abortion
1904, publication unknown but probably for physicians

Ergot and apiol were - are? - used to abort fetuses. Greek physicain Hippocrates listed parsley as an abortion agent; one apiol comes from that herb.

Wikipedia, the souce of the above information (under "Apiol"), has more to say:

Apiol was used by women in the Middle Ages to terminate pregnancies.[citation needed] Its use was widespread in the USA, often as ergoapiol or apergol, until a highly toxic adulterated product containing apiol and tri-orthocresyl phosphate (also famous as the adulterant added to Jamaican ginger) was introduced on the American market.

The toxic effects of pure crystalline apiol are disputed. It causes a "relatively safe abortion" in pregnant women if taken in small quantities. It also restores the cycle of menstruation. A larger dose does not cause an abortion, it causes nausea and damages the liver and kidneys.[citation needed]

Now that other methods of abortion are available apiol is almost forgotten in the West, but it is still produced and is used in the Middle East.[citation needed]

The ad does not list abortion as a use for the drug, which would have been against American law. But it does mention "other distressing symptoms" - pregnancy, maybe? Amenorrhea - absence of menstruation - could be a place marker for the word "pregnancy."

Isn't the art nouveau decoration nice, complete with its hallmarks, sinuous lines and plants?

Ad for the Australian Myzone menstrual pain pills (1952)


Enovid contraceptive pills - the Pill, 1964 - More medicine, etc., for women: Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound - Cardui - Dr. Grace Feder Thompson's letter appealing for patients - Dr. Pierce's medicines - Dr. E. C. Abbey's The Sexual System and Its Derangements (1882) - Dr. Young's rectal dilators - Orange Blossom medicine. Ad for the Australian Myzone menstrual pain pills (1952).

© 2008 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute any of the work on this Web site in any manner or medium
without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org