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  • A case of Baker's Itch
  • 'Sweet itch' on a horse's back.
  • An itch mite (Acarus autumnalis). Coloured etching, ca. 1790.
  • Diseased skin and boils on the hands, head and leg of a woman, showing symptoms of 'pustular itch'. Watercolour by C. D'Alton, 1866.
  • Have handy Sherriffs Ointment : the great cure for eczema, erysipelas, herpes, nettlerash, itch, bad legs, old sores, cuts. It is healing, soothing and antiseptic / Alexander Sherriffs.
  • Had an itch, ignored it, got worse, where's that number? What will they think? : ......Pheew! Wasn't too bad, needed treatment, no lasting harm, so glad I went ... / Health Education Authority.
  • Helleborus x hybridus Hort. Ex Vilmorin Ranunculaceae. A range of hybrids from Helleborus orientalis the Oriental hellebore. Distribution: Europe through to the Caucasus. All very poisonous. Culpeper (1650) says: “The roots (boiled in vinegar) ... be an admirable remedy against inveterate scabs, itch and leprosy, the same helps the toothache, being held in the mouth
  • Scabiosa columbaria L. Dipsacaceae. Small scabious. Distribution: Europe. Culpeper (1650) writes: ‘The roots either boiled or beaten into powder and so taken, helps such as are extremely troubled with scabs and itch, are medicinal in the French-pocks [syphilis], hard swellings, inward wounds ...’ The genus name comes from the Latin word scabies, meaning ‘itch’. According to the Doctrine of Signatures, the rough leaves indicated that it would cure eczematous skin. However, the leaves are not really very rough... Not used in herbal medicine at the present time except in Southern Africa where it is used for colic and heartburn, and the roots made into an ointment for curing wounds (van Wyk, 2000). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Summer itches, bites & stings : their treatment and relief : Lanacane.
  • Summer itches, bites & stings : their treatment and relief : Lanacane.
  • Summer itches, bites & stings : their treatment and relief : Lanacane.
  • Summer itches, bites & stings : their treatment and relief : Lanacane.
  • Helleborus x hybridus Hort. Ex Vilmorin Ranunculaceae. A range of hybrids from Helleborus orientalis the Oriental hellebore. Distribution: Europe through to the Caucasus. All very poisonous. Culpeper (1650) says: “The roots (boiled in vinegar) ... be an admirable remedy against inveterate scabs, itch and leprosy, the same helps the toothache, being held in the mouth: dropped into the ears, helpeth deafness coming of melancholy and noises in the ears
  • Nigella sativa L. Ranunculaceae Love-in-the-mist, Black Cumin, Nutmeg flower, Roman Coriander. Distribution: SW Asia. Culpeper (1650) writes: ‘Nigella seeds, boyled in oil, and the forehead anointed with it, ease pains in the head, take away leprosie, itch, scurf, and helps scald-heads, inwardly taken they expel worms, they provoke urine and the terms, help difficulty of breathing: the smoke of them (being burned) drives away serpents and venomous beasts.’ The seeds are used as a spice, but as might be expected as a member of the family Ranunculaceae, the buttercups, the plant contains a highly poisonous glycoside, in this case called melanthin. The amount of toxicity present in spices is clearly insufficient to cause problems when used as such. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Nigella sativa L. Ranunculaceae Love-in-the-mist, Black Cumin, Nutmeg flower, Roman Coriander. Distribution: SW Asia. Culpeper (1650) writes: ‘Nigella seeds, boyled in oil, and the forehead anointed with it, ease pains in the head, take away leprosie, itch, scurf, and helps scald-heads, inwardly taken they expel worms, they provoke urine and the terms, help difficulty of breathing: the smoke of them (being burned) drives away serpents and venomous beasts.’ The seeds are used as a spice, but as might be expected as a member of the family Ranunculaceae, the buttercups, the plant contains a highly poisonous glycoside, in this case called melanthin. The amount of toxicity present in spices is clearly insufficient to cause problems when used as such. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Knautia macedonica Griseb. Dipsacaceae. Distribution: Macedonia. This honours the brothers Knaut, both physicians and botanists: Christof Knaut (also Knauth, 1638–94) and his brother Christian Knaut (1654–1716). The plant was traditionally used as a compress in its native Balkans to relieve dermatitis and itching. This use is a local survival of what was once a widespread application of this plant and its relations, and is an example of the doctrine of signatures in which the therapeutic benefit of a plant is suggested by some aspect of its anatomy
  • Pulsatilla vulgaris Mill. Ranunculaceae Distribution: Europe. Lindley (1838) and Woodville (1790) knew this as Anemone pulsatilla, the common name being Pasque (Easter) Flower. At the end of the 18th century it was recommended for blindness, cataracts, syphilis, strokes and much more, treatments which, as was clear to physicians at the time, were valueless. Gerard (1633) writes: ‘They serve only for the adorning of gardens and garlands, being floures of great beauty’. It is in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, all members of which are poisonous. It was recommended, by mouth, for ‘obstinate case of taenia’ (tapeworms). One hopes it was more toxic to the worm than the patient. Flowers with a central disc and radiating florets were regarded as being good for eye complaints under the Doctrine of Signatures. Porta (1588) writes (translated): ‘Argemone [Papaver argemone], and anemone, have flowers of this shape, from this they cure ulcers and cloudiness of the cornea’. There were occupational diseases even before there were words like pneumoconiosis, and Lindley writes that ‘the powder of the root causes itching of the eyes, colic and vomiting, if in pulverising it the operator do not avoid the fine dust which is driven up.’ Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Pulsatilla vulgaris Mill. Ranunculaceae. Pasque flower. Distribution: Europe. Lindley (1838) and Woodville (1790) knew this as Anemone pulsatilla, the common name being Pasque (Easter) Flower. At the end of the 18th century it was recommended for blindness, cataracts, syphilis, strokes and much more, treatments which, as was clear to physicians at the time, were valueless. Gerard (1633) writes: ‘They serve only for the adorning of gardens and garlands, being floures of great beauty’. It is in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, all members of which are poisonous. It was recommended, by mouth, for ‘obstinate case of taenia’ (tapeworms). One hopes it was more toxic to the worm than the patient. Flowers with a central disc and radiating florets were regarded as being good for eye complaints under the Doctrine of Signatures. Porta (1588) writes (translated): ‘Argemone [Papaver argemone], and anemone, have flowers of this shape, from this they cure ulcers and cloudiness of the cornea’. There were occupational diseases even before there were words like pneumoconiosis, and Lindley writes that ‘the powder of the root causes itching of the eyes, colic and vomiting, if in pulverising it the operator do not avoid the fine dust which is driven up.’ Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Pulsatilla vulgaris Mill. Ranunculaceae Pasque flower. Distribution: Europe. Lindley (1838) and Woodville (1790) knew this as Anemone pulsatilla, the common name being Pasque (Easter) Flower. At the end of the 18th century it was recommended for blindness, cataracts, syphilis, strokes and much more, treatments which, as was clear to physicians at the time, were valueless. Gerard (1633) writes: ‘They serve only for the adorning of gardens and garlands, being floures of great beauty’. It is in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, all members of which are poisonous. It was recommended, by mouth, for ‘obstinate case of taenia’ (tapeworms). One hopes it was more toxic to the worm than the patient. Flowers with a central disc and radiating florets were regarded as being good for eye complaints under the Doctrine of Signatures. Porta (1588) writes (translated): ‘Argemone [Papaver argemone], and anemone, have flowers of this shape, from this they cure ulcers and cloudiness of the cornea’. There were occupational diseases even before there were words like pneumoconiosis, and Lindley writes that ‘the powder of the root causes itching of the eyes, colic and vomiting, if in pulverising it the operator do not avoid the fine dust which is driven up.’ Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • A Scottish sheriff, advertising Sherriffs ointment for skin diseases. Colour lithograph.
  • Early C20 Chinese Lithograph: 'Fan' diseases
  • Brillantaisia ulugurica Lindau, Acanthaceae. Giant salvia. Tropical herbaceous plant. Distribution: Tropical Africa. Brillantaisia patula is used by the Yoruba in south Nigeria for small-pox medication, the roots being mixed with Bahia nitida and Marantolchloa leucantha, Piper guineense and snails. This is made into a soup and the snail piece eaten to protect against smallpox for a year (Neuwinger, 1994) which doubtless was effective after the global eradication of smallpox in 1979. Brillantaisia nitens is used in the Cameroons to treat cardiovascular disorders. Phytochemical screening of Brillantaisia species have shown antibacterial action, vascular smooth muscle relaxant properties. Kew reports their use as soap
  • Fruiting branch of a sapodillo tree (Manilkara zapota) and four mites. Coloured etching, c. 1808, after J. Ihle.
  • Thiodermine : ochre - rose - Rachel : naturelle.
  • Thiodermine : ochre - rose - Rachel : naturelle.
  • A tooth-drawer in his establishment feeling the tooth of a bemused female patient, his assistant holds the pincers in readiness for extraction. Coloured etching by T. Rowlandson, 1823.
  • A tooth-drawer in his establishment feeling the tooth of a bemused female patient, his assistant holds the pincers in readiness for extraction. Coloured etching by T. Rowlandson, 1823.
  • A tooth-drawer in his establishment feeling the tooth of a bemused female patient, his assistant holds the pincers in readiness for extraction. Coloured etching by T. Rowlandson, 1823.
  • The Gloucester journal. Vol. LXXXVII. No. 4476, Monday, January 4, 1808 / printed and published by D. Walker, (successor to R. Raikes,) near the Cross, Westgate Street.
  • The Gloucester journal. Vol. LXXXVII. No. 4476, Monday, January 4, 1808 / printed and published by D. Walker, (successor to R. Raikes,) near the Cross, Westgate Street.