HEADACHE POWDERS.
Headache is so common a disorder that it was to be expected that secret
remedies asserted to be certain and safe cures would be extensively
advertised, and the sale, especially to women, of headache powders, in
most cases as proprietary articles, is at the present day undoubtedly
enormous. Persons who may be disposed to resort to their use should,
however, bear two facts in mind; the first is that headache is not
a disease but a symptom, and that the only rational treatment is to
ascertain and remove the cause, whether it be error in diet, want of
exercise, local irritation of some nerve as by an unhealthy tooth,
eyestrain, or some serious chronic nervous disease. The second is that
fatal results have been known to follow self-treatment with antifebrin
(acetanilide), which figures largely in most of them.
The powders analysed were in all cases obtained from ordinary dealers
in unopened packages; the composition of each is given in such a way
as to show the dose of each article in one powder of average weight.
Since the separation of the ingredients depends largely on their
different solubilities in various liquids, it is not possible to obtain
quantitative results having quite the same degree of accuracy as in
some other kinds of analytical work; but the results of analysis have
been checked by preparing mixtures of the composition calculated and
submitting them to the same analytical process; the possible error in
the proportions given below does not in any instance exceed a very
small fraction.
DAISY POWDERS.
The English Company which sells this remedy charges 7½d. for 10
powders; the average weight of one powder was 6 grains, but the weight
of individual powders in a packet was found to vary from 5·7 to 6·4
grains.
The medicament consisted of acetanilide alone. Being an unmixed drug
it was not liable to stamp duty, and the package was accordingly
unstamped. The dose was stated to be one powder, repeated in two hours
if necessary; half a powder for children of 12 years; not adapted for
children under 12 years.
Two “certificates” were printed on each wrapper from individuals who
are notorious for giving testimonials in the guise of certificates
of analysis. The only fact certified was that the powders were “free
from any injurious substance,” in which medical opinion will scarcely
support the writers.
The estimated cost of the drug (60 grains) in a packet is one-eighth of
a penny.
The same Company also supplies “Head powders prepared by Daisy, Ltd.,”
the wrappers being printed in such a way that careful inspection was
required to distinguish these from the powders sold as “Daisy powders.”
The “head powders” were found to consist of phenacetin only.
CURIC WAFERS.
These so-called wafers, also put up by an English Company, are
recommended as a “safe and certain cure for headache, toothache, and
neuralgia”; stated to be prepared “from the Prescription of an Eminent
West-End Physician.”
The “wafers” consisted of ordinary cachets, with the name of the
article embossed on one face. They contained the medicaments in the
form of powder. The package contained 12 wafers for 1s. 1½d. The
average weight of the contents of one wafer was 8·2 grains, but that of
the contents of individual wafers in a package varied from 7·3 to 9·3
grains. Analysis showed the composition of the powder to be:
Acetanilide 3·28 grains
Phenacetin 3·28 ”
Caffeine citrate 1·64 ”
Directions for taking the wafers were given, but it was not stated
whether the dose is one or more.
The estimated cost of the drugs (98·4 grains) in a packet is
nine-tenths of a penny.
STEARNS’S HEADACHE CURE.
This remedy, advertised by an American Company with agents in London,
is recommended as “A Speedy, Certain, and Safe Cure for Headaches of
all Origins, whether Sick, Bilious, Nervous, or Hysterical.”
Like the foregoing it was put up in cachets described as wafers. The
package contained 12 wafers for 1s. The average weight of the powder
contained in one wafer was 9·8 grains; but the weight of individual
wafers in a package varied from 9·3 to 10·2 grains.
Analysis showed the composition of the powder to be:
Acetanilide 3·92 grains.
Caffeine 0·98 grain.
Sugar of milk 4·90 grains.
The dose was one wafer. “If relief is not obtained, repeat in an hour,
but more than two wafers should not be taken.”
The estimated cost of the drugs (118 grains) in a packet is a little
under ½d.
BELL’S FAIRY CURE.
This Fairy Cure, which is put up by an English Company, is stated to
give relief instantly in all cases of neuralgia, headache, etc. A
handbill enclosed in the package made further claims, from which the
following extracts are taken, “guaranteed to be an instant and absolute
cure” for “neuralgia, headache, brain fag, nerve pains.” “Nothing else
is like it. Nothing else is so good. Don’t compare it with ordinary
‘cures’ or ‘powders.’ Fairy Cure stands absolutely alone.”
Ten powders were sold for 7d. The average weight of a powder was 2·7
grains, but individual powders in a package varied from 2·0 to 3·7
grains.
Analysis showed the composition of the powder to be:
Acetanilide 1·16 grains.
Phenacetin 1·16 ”
Caffeine 0·38 grain.
The directions were to take one powder, “repeat in an hour if
necessary, then every two or three hours until a cure is effected.” Yet
it is guaranteed to be an instant cure! There was a notice that it was
not to be given to children below 12 years of age.
In this case also an “analyst’s report” was given on the wrapper; it
stated that the powder “is composed of several organo-therapeutic
agents well-known in medicine”; probably the “analyst” did not mean
quite what he said in the following: “In my opinion, the preparation
is well calculated to fulfil the purpose for which it is intended,
namely—neurotic affections.”
The estimated cost of the drugs (27 grains) in a package is ¼d.
KAPUTINE.
This preparation, put up by an English Company, is stated to cure in
ten minutes headache, neuralgia, and all nerve pains. In view of the
similarity in composition of these articles, the claims to uniqueness
are amusing. In this case the wrapper bore the words “Nothing as good.
Nothing similar,” while on the circular enclosed in the package it was
stated that “Kaputine is composed of several approved ingredients.
That is, unlike the white headache powders, which consist solely of
one crude drug, and which have frequently been condemned as dangerous
by the Medical Press—Kaputine is most carefully prepared from several
ingredients which have the absolute confidence of the Medical
Profession.”
The price of 18 powders is 1s. 1½d. The average weight of one powder
was 6·6 grains; the weight of individual powders in a package varied
from 5·7 to 7·5 grains.
Analysis showed the composition of the powder to be:
Acetanilide 6·30 grains.
Ferric oxide 0·05 ”
Sugar 0·21 ”
That is, the acetanilide was tinted pink with what is practically the
saccharated carbonate of iron of the _British Pharmacopœia_.
The dose was given as one powder: “If not completely cured in two
hours, the dose may be repeated. Half a powder for children under 12.”
The estimated cost of the drugs (119 grains) in a packet is just over
¼d.
HOFFMAN’S HARMLESS HEADACHE POWDERS.
These powders are prepared by a New York Drug Company, but the package
also bears the name of another company, presumably the English agents.
The powders are described as “a simple and effective cure for all
headaches.”
Ten powders were sold for 1s. 1½d. The average weight of one powder was
10·5 grains; nine out of ten weighed from 9·3 to 10·5 grains, the tenth
weighing 15·3 grains.
Analysis showed the composition of the powder to be:
Acetanilide 5·02 grains.
Cocoa 4·02 ”
Sodium bicarbonate 1·01 ”
The dose was given as one powder, to be repeated in half an hour if not
relieved.
Estimated cost of drugs (105 grains), one-third of a penny.
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL SPECIALITIES.
In addition to the above proprietary articles, large numbers of
headache powders are supplied singly by retailers, and are commonly
bought for this purpose ready packed from a wholesale house. It was,
therefore, thought worth while to examine a sample of such powders;
the one taken for the purpose is known as the “Good as Gold” headache
powder; three dozen were attached to a card for exhibition, and the
powders are retailed at 1d. each. The average weight was found to be
2·8 grains, six individual powders ranging from 2·7 to 2·9 grains. The
powders consisted of acetanilide only.
The estimated cost of the drug for three dozen powders is ¼d.
There is reason to believe that practically all the others sold in this
way are of the same composition.