| Description Of Item | A small cylindrical medicine vial with screw top lid labelled ‘Acetanilid Comp. No. 2.’, containing a number of white pills. The label states that these pills contain: Acetanilid 7-10 gr., Caffeine Citrated 1-10 gr., and Sodium Bicarb 1-5 gr.
Introduced during the latter part of the nineteenth century, acetanilid, otherwise known as phenylacetanide, first found popularity as an antipyretic (anti-fever drug) at a time when antipyresis was very much in vogue; during this period, such oral remedies began to gain favour over traditional antipyretic methods like sweating, purging, and bleeding. Once interest in antipyresis had waned, acetanilid found longevity as an analgesic, or painkiller, sold ‘in white, shining scales or white powder, odorless, and of a slightly burning taste’, ‘in powders, tablets, capsules or cachets’ (Hiss, 1898, p.23).
As an analgesic, acetanilid was used for a variety of ailments. In the 1897 edition of 'Lilly’s Handbook of Pharmacy and Therapeutics', Eli Lilly states that the drug is efficient ‘for the pains of locomotor ataxia, rheumatism, sciatica and lumbago’, as well as ‘acute rheumatism, influenza, scarlet fever and acute bronchitis’ (1897, p.132). However, in addition to its antipyretic and analgesic qualities, Lilly also applauds acetanilid’s function as a hypnotic and antispasmodic: ‘It lessens reflex action of the spinal cord and inhibits the sensibility of the sensory nerves. It raises arterial tension in a degree and correspondingly slows the heart, producing quiet sleep’ (1897, p.132). Hiss also references acetanilid’s function as both an antiseptic, used in place of iodoform, and an injectable cure, namely for gonorrhoea, as well as an abortion preventive (1898, p.23).
In addition to its physical benefits, acetanilid was also used to treat mental health issues such as ‘melancholy’. However, it was certainly not a wonderful cure-all, its toxicity meaning that poisoning was common. Acetanilid poisoning is characterised, in most cases, by cyanosis, in which the skin turns blue, plus symptoms such as vertigo, faintness, excessive restlessness, perspiration, rapid and feeble heart rate, and even sometimes coma. Once the medical community became aware of the dangers of acetanilid the drug was used more conservatively and cases of poisoning reduced, before rising again during the early twentieth century after it was made widely available to the public and not just medical professionals. Eventually, acetanilid dropped in popularity until it was no longer used, due to the emergence of contemporary analgesics such as paracetamol and aspirin.
References
Hiss, A, E. 1898. Thesaurus of proprietary preparations and pharmaceutical specialties: including "patent" medicines, proprietary pharmaceuticals, open-formula specialties, synthetic remedies, etc. Chicago: G. P. Engelhard & Company.
Lilly, E. 1897. Lilly’s Hand Book of Pharmacy and Therapeutics. Indianapolis: Eli Lilly & Company. |