Nancy Linton’s cure from scrofula, or the King’s Evil, was featured in publications promoting Swaim’s Panacea. The image above featured Nancy after she had been cured!
Scrofula was a skin disease, probably a form of tuberculosis affecting the lymph nodes of the neck, causing chronic abscess. From the thirteenth century to the eighteenth century, the monarchs of England and France were believed to have the supernatural power to cure the disease by touching patients, thus the name King’s Evil.
Swaim’s Panacea was promoted as a cure for many afflictions including syphilis. Skin diseases and syphilis were often treated with mercury; Swaim’s Panacea contained this dangerous ingredient.
Courtesy of U. S. National Library of Medicine
Image featured in Discovering Quacks, Utopias, and Cemeteries: Modern Lessons from Historical Themes by Cynthia Resor
After reading the blog post over scrofula, this image caught my attention. I could use this to teach a lesson about the history of medicine.