Diamond Antiseptics and Lilly & co. - Mercury Bichloride bottle
Name/Title
Diamond Antiseptics and Lilly & co. - Mercury Bichloride bottleEntry/Object ID
2026.FIC.006Description
Lilly & Co. Diamond Antiseptics Mercury Bichloride - 1.82 grs.Use
Mercuric chloride was a common over-the-counter disinfectant in the early twentieth century, recommended for everything from fighting measles germs, to protecting fur coats and exterminating red ants. A New York physician, Carlin Philips, wrote in 1913 that "it is one of our most popular and effective household antiseptics", but so corrosive and poisonous that it should only be available by prescription. The product frequently caused accidental poisonings and was used as a suicide method. Syphilis was frequently treated with mercuric chloride before the advent of antibiotics. It was inhaled, ingested, injected, and applied topically. Both mercuric-chloride treatment for syphilis and poisoning during the course of treatment were so common that the latter's symptoms were often confused with those of syphilis. This use of "salts of white mercury" is referred to in the English-language folk song "The Unfortunate Rake".Category
Apothecary/Medicine