Month: April 2020

During the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak, a popular children’s jump rope rhyme went: “I had a little bird. Its name was Enza. I opened up the window. And in flew Enza.” Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).

Methods to prevent and treat Spanish flu a century ago were no crazier than those proposed today to take advantage of frightened and gullible people. Horlick’s Malted Milk, though lacking a smidgen of anything medicinal, claimed to be a “reliable diet during and after influenza.” Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).

Spanish flu ravaged the world in 1918. Then, as now, businesses took advantage of people’s fear to tout their products. Boyer’s Massage Parlor in San Jose, California, ran an ad that claimed their treatments “guarantee to cure Spanish influenza.” More likely, close contact between staff and clients helped to spread it. Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).

Vaseline Eucalyptol Petroleum Jelly claimed, in accordance with “the best medical authorities,” to guard against the Spanish flu. “Snuff a little Vaseline Eucalyptol up the nostrils night and morning. It keeps the delicate membranes clean and healthy and is a protection against the influenza germ.” Its efficacy against the flu was questionable, but it sure cleared the sinuses. Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).

In October 1918, with the cadre of nurses depleted by the war, the Red Cross warned that Philadelphia did not have enough to treat the rapidly increasing number of Spanish flu cases. The archbishop of Philadelphia called on nuns to leave their convents and care for the sick and dying across the city. Although the sisters lacked medical training, they dressed in white gowns and gauze masks, and ministered to patients who were a cross section of the city: immigrants from Italy, Ukraine, Poland, and China; blacks and Jews; the poor and the homeless. The mayor said of the sisters: “I have never seen a greater demonstration of real charity or self-sacrifice irrespective of the creed or color of the victims.” Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).

Kolynos Dental Cream, a toothpaste made in New Haven, Connecticut, was advertised as an effective preventative and treatment for the Spanish flu because, according their advertisements, “Fully ninety percent of infection is taken into the system by mouth and nose.” Well, Kolynos was right about the means of transmission, if not the appropriate medical response. Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).

Doctors were unsure what to recommend regarding the Spanish flu. Many wisely urged people to avoid crowded places, and cover their mouths and noses. Others suggested medicinal remedies included eating cinnamon, drinking wine, or consuming Oxo’s beef broth. At one point, the use of aspirin was blamed for causing the pandemic (overdosing damaged the lungs); others think it may have helped those infected. There is no epidemiological evidence to support either theory. Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).

A guest at the Quincy House Hotel in Boston recommended apples as a cure for influenza in October 1918. He was quoted in the Boston Post as saying, “Up in the country, where I come from, the simple home remedies appear most effectual. Apples may seem like an old woman’s whim, but try them as a preventative anyway.” Some readers were alarmed. “What, no chicken soup?” they demanded. Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).

To maintain morale during the Spanish flu outbreak, World War I censors minimized early reports of the virus in Germany, Britain, France, and the U.S. Papers were allowed to report on its effects in Spain, a neutral country, creating an impression of Spain being especially hard hit, which in turn led to the pandemic being named “Spanish flu.” The actual geographic origin is unknown. Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).