Examiner 180: Cures for coughs, boils, pimples and cancerous ulcers

Whatever your ailment, there was a tincture, lotion or pastille to cure it, according to early adverts in the 'Cork Examiner' 

Our Examiner 180 coverage looks at the health advertisements posted in the Cork Examiner. Picture: iStock 

In the mid-1800s when the Cork Examiner  first launched, the discovery of penicillin as an antibiotic was still nearly 90 years into the future; the Irish Pharmacy Union wouldn’t be established until 1973 and even the Pharmacy Act of 1875 was still some years off.

So it shouldn’t be too surprising that a wide range of cure-alls and remedies were advertised in newspapers without any proof that they worked.