278  Drugs  and  Druggist  in  Tuberculosis.  { Am'J^1uer'1g0ll9arnj' 
the  microscopic  organism  which  causes  the  disease,  namely,  the 
Bacillus  tuberculosis,  is  present  in  the  sputum,  or  expectorated 
matter,  and  is  also  found  in  the  spray-like  ejections  accompanying 
the  coughing  and  sneezing  of  tuberculous  patients.  Hence,  these 
matters  furnish  direct  sources  of  the  disease. 
For  this  reason,  I  wish  to  point  out,  before  taking  up  the  role 
which  drugs  have  played  in  the  treatment  of  this  disease,  that 
druggists  should  use  the  utmost  care  and  cleanliness  in  handling 
the  prescriptions,  bottles,  and  other  objects  brought  into  their  stores 
by  those  suffering  from  tuberculosis.  And,  if  I  were  to  recommend 
what  I  really  believe  to  be  desirable,  I  would  say  that  the  bottles 
should  not  be  accepted  for  refilling  or  else  should  be  sterilized, 
and  that  some  means  should  also  be  devised  for  receiving  and 
handling  such  prescriptions.  Of  course,  unless  practices  like  this 
are  intelligently  carried  out,  many  oversights  and  inconsistencies 
arise  which  throw  discredit  on  the  work.  You  all  know  the  story 
of  Pasteur,  who,  after  having  washed  some  cherries  in  a  tumbler 
of  water,  absent-mindedly  drank  the  water.  However  this  may 
be,  the  question  should  receive  our  thoughtful  consideration. 
DRUGS  USED  IN  TUBERCULOSIS. 
To  the  casual  observer  at  this  Exhibition  three  things  are 
brought  to  his  attention :  ( 1 )  the  conditions  of  life  that  tend  to 
the  development  of  tuberculosis;  (2)  pathogenic  effects  produced 
in  various  tissues  and  organs,  and  (3)  illustrations  of  the  hygienic 
methods  used  in  the  treatment  of  tuberculosis.  It  would  therefore 
appear  that  at  the  present  time  drugs  and  druggists  play  a  very 
minor  part  in  the  movement  for  the  eradication  of  consumption, 
and  yet  it  can  be  shown  that  the  druggist  has  a  genuine  and 
distinct  part  to  play  in  this  crusade. 
The  number  of  remedies  and  methods  which  has  "been  proposed 
and  used  in  the  treatment  of  tuberculosis  is  legion.  If  we  go 
back  to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  we  find  in  a  medical 
work  written  by  John  Wesley  1  that  the  methods  of  treatment  were 
somewhat  as  follows :  One  in  a  deep  consumption  was  advised  to 
drink  nothing  but  water,  and  to  eat  nothing  but  water-gruel,  with- 
out salt  or  sugar;  or  to  take  a  pint  of  skimmed  milk,  with  half  a 
pint  of  small  beer,  and  boil  in  this  whey  about  twenty  ivy  leaves 
and  two  or  three  sprigs  of  hyssop,  and  to  drink  one-half  of  the 
liquid  over  night  and  the  rest  in  the  morning.    It  may  be  pointed 
