Polite Dissent

Following last week’s discussion of the treatment of cough, this week the focus is a particularly nasty type of cough — the Whooping Cough. The treatment below is recommended by Every Man His Own Doctor, or The Poor Planter’s Physician, written and published in 1736. Punctuation, spelling, emphasis and capitalization are all reproduced faithfully from the original text.

THE Whooping Cough (often fatal to Children,) is attended with a stronger Convulsion than ordinary, which causes the Whooping.

FOR this, boil Hysop and Elicampane, a Handful of each, in 2 Quarts of Water, strain it off, and adding 1 Pound of clean Muscovado Sugar, boil it again, and give the Patient 2 Spoonfuls every 3 hours.

THIS same Remedy is good for shortness of Breath, and Hoarseness, only in those Cases, Linseed Tea sweetn’d with Honey, should be the constant Drink, and a spare and cooling Diet punctually observ’d.

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NOTES:

1. Whooping Cough, also known as Pertussis, was a very common disease in Colonial America. Currently in the United States, a vaccine is used to prevent infection, but there has been an increase in the number of cases over the past several years, particularly among adults. There is concern that the protection granted by the vaccine wanes enough over time to allow infection in older individuals.
   • CDC information on Whooping Cough.
2. Hysop (more commonly spelled Hyssop) is an herb from the mint family.
   • Information from the Spice Pages.
   • Entry on Hyssop in The Modern Herbal (from 1931) .
3. Elicampane (more commonly spelled Elecampane) is a common medicinal herb.
   • Entry on Elecampane from the Culpeper Index of Herbs (17th century).
   • Information from The Modern Herbal.
   • Quick information (and picture) of Elecampane .
4. Muscovado Sugar is a type of very dark brown sugar with a strong molasses flavor
   • Information on Muscovado Sugar from Hormel’s “Our Kitchen”
5. Linseed Tea is another traditional herb “medicine”
   • Information on Lisneed Tea from The Materia Medica.

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Disclaimer: This book was written nearly three centuries ago, long before such modern ideas as hygiene and germ theory. As a physician, I in no way recommend the treatment suggested above. If you have a worrisome cough, particularly if you seem to be whooping, see a doctor. This excerpt is presented merely for interest and entertainment.