Medicinal Bottles of the Site and 19th/20th Century Public Health

A photo of a fragment of Dr. Kings New Discovery for Coughs and Colds found on site.

A bottle of Dr. Miles restorative nervine donated to the study from an alumni who collected it on the Trinity campus.

A Dr. Watkins liniment bottle donated to the study by a Trinity Alumni who collected the bottle on Trinity's campus.

A bottle of Dr. Kilmer's swamp root liver and bladder cure donated to the study by an alumni who collected it on Trinity's campus.

A bottle of D.K. & B Cure donated to the study by an alumni who collected it from Trinity's campus.

A bottle from the Antidolor medical company donated to the study from a Trinity alumni who collected it from the Trinity campus.

A bottle from the National Remedy Company New York donated to the study by a Trinity alumni who collected the bottle on Trinity's campus.

A fragment of a Hick's Liquid Capudine bottle found during surface collections.

A fragment of Dr. Caldwell's Pepsin syrup found during surface collections.

A fragment of a Dr. Price bottle found through surface collections.

A fragment of Dr. Kilmer's swamp root liver and bladder cure found during surface collections.

A fragment of Dr. Caldwell's pepsin syrup found through surface collections.

A fragment of Dr. Kilmer's swamp root liver and bladder cure found during surface collections.

A fragment of Dr. Caldwell's pepsin syrup found during surface collections.

A fragment of Dr. King's new discovery for coughs and colds found during surface collections.

During this period, there was little to no regulation in regard to medicine and healthcare, especially in comparison to the 21st century. The majority of the “regulation” in place was public opinion based on varying popular scientific research articles from the time. This made medicine exist in two different spheres, with remnants of old medicinal beliefs, such as spas or herbal remedies, and new beliefs, like surgeries and patent medicines, blending into one another often causing incredible contrast. Societal beliefs played a significant role in the ideas of health and healthcare during this period, and the decisions surrounding the consumption of medicine, often resulted in the vilification of healthcare professionals.

Many medicines during this time tended to lack an ingredient list as they were often concoctions of random, or sometimes harmful, ingredients. Many medicine manufacturers falsified descriptions of their medicines. “Patent medicines” could be produced with no ingredient lists, which typically had distinguishable foul tastes and smells. This led to many individuals selling “patent medicines” as a quick and easy way to get rich, until about 1906 when the Pure Food and Drug Act forced “patent medicine” manufacturers to start labeling their products.

The findings of these bottles at the Trinity site reveal a significant amount about the public health of San Antonio, revealing hygene habits as well as outbreaks such as yellowfever, chollera, and smallpox.