An unusual personalized cough mixture from the early twentieth century.

There is no way at this point to determine the financial or marketing impact of the personalized cough mixture upon the Randall Drug Store. Nor can there be an estimate of the influence that the likeness of Dr. Randall's daughter on the label might have had upon sales or use of the product. However, in an era of uncertainty and naiveté regarding health options in general and medicinal products in particular, it could be assumed that this photograph-adorned personalized cough mixture bottle would have been promoted in-store by Dr. Randall with confidence, and used with assurance by purchasers. This uniquely presented cough mixture was no doubt a point of pride for the pharmacist, as well as his lovely daughter.

Postnasal drip syndrome. Two hundred years of controversy between UK and USA.

This review discusses the trans-Atlantic controversy concerning Post Nasal Drip Syndrome (PNDS). PNDS was described as a common condition in the UK in the nineteenth century and was so extraordinarily prevalent in the USA that it was called 'American catarrh'. American chest physicians adopted PNDS as the most common cause of chronic cough. A relationship between PNDS and chronic cough was not accepted by UK chest physicians, who preferred to use the term 'rhinosinusitis' instead of PNDS. In the USA the diagnosis of PNDS was linked to a response to therapy with a sedating antihistamine and decongestant, but UK physicians doubted if this was a specific therapy and did not accept the therapy as diagnostic for PNDS. In 2006 the American College of Chest Physicians replaced the term PNDS with upper airway cough syndrome and some UK otolaryngologists proposed that PNDS should be replaced with rhinosinusitis. PNDS is now being replaced with more general descriptions of upper airway disease and a causal link with chronic cough is now disputed. PNDS may be caused by a mucus hypersecretory phenotype that develops following chronic exposure of the respiratory tract to particulate matter, allergens, irritants and pathogens. Current research on treating excessive airway mucus in the lower airways may be applicable to PNDS.

The St Kilda boat cough under the microscope.

The inhabitants of St Kilda, a remote archipelago in the Outer Hebrides, suffered from outbreaks of a respiratory tract infection known as the boat cough every time strangers visited their isolated community between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. This condition has always been labelled influenza, but a review of contemporary records and modern microbiological evidence strongly suggests the illness was due to rhinovirus.

Symptom research on chronic cough: a historical perspective.

This review provides a perspective on how research on the management of cough has evolved, looks at key methodologic lessons that have been learned from this research and how they may relate to the management of other symptoms, identifies important methodologic challenges that remain to be solved, and lists important questions that still need to be answered. Three important methodologic lessons have been learned. First, cough must be evaluated systematically and according to a neuroanatomic framework. Second, the response to specific therapy must be noted to determine the cause or causes of cough and to characterize the strengths and limitations of diagnostic testing. Third, multiple conditions can simultaneously cause cough. Among the three methodologic challenges that still need to be solved are 1) definitively determining the diagnostic accuracy and reliability of 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring and how best to interpret pH test results, 2) definitively determining the role of nonacid reflux in cough due to gastroesophageal reflux disease, and 3) developing reliable and reproducible subjective and objective methods with which to assess the efficacy of cough therapy. Numerous important clinical questions are still unanswered: What role do empirical therapeutic trials play in diagnosing the cause of chronic cough? What is the most cost-effective approach to the diagnosis and treatment of chronic cough: empirical therapeutic trials or laboratory testing-directed therapeutic trials? How often is environmental air pollution, unrelated to allergies or smoking, responsible for chronic cough?

[An introduction to literature on infantile asthmatic coughing in the period of Sui - Tang to Song dynasties].

Records in Zhu bing yuan hou lun are the primary accumulation of materials on infantile asthmatic coughing. The material from Bei ji qian jin yao fang and Qian jin yi fang were based on the author's life - long practical experience and applied by later generations. The guideline based on differential diagnosis of zheng for treating this ailment was established by Xiao er yao zheng zhi jue. While You you xin shu contains the most rich and detailed materials for this ailment before the Song dynasty, which, exerting profound influence on later generations in this field, is a milestone in the history of academic development of infantile asthmatic coughing.

Frankincense and myrrh as remedies in children.

Two cases of therapy with frankincense and myrrh in children are presented. The long history of this unusual treatment is outlined, demonstrating that for several millenia such agents have been employed in a number of medical contexts, as well as in the perfume and incense industries. Myrrh has found recent pharmacological application in the reduction of cholesterol and triglycerides, as predicted by several traditional therapies.

Frankincense and myrrh as remedies in children

Two cases of therapy with frankincense and myrrh in children are presented. The long history of this unusual treatment is outlined, demonstrating that for several millenia such agents have been employed in a number of medical contexts, as well as in the perfume and incence industries. Myrrh has found recent pharmacological application in the reduction of cholesterol and triglycerides, as predicted by several traditional therapies. (AU)