Medicine
A variety of medicines were used at the Asylum, and spoons like these were used to administer them. The third annual report (below) describes some of the different medicines that were given to patients to treat different conditions. Simple cures such as cod liver oil and vegetable tonics were used, alongside more specialised medicines such as potassium iodide.
Chloroform was also often used to force-feed patients who wouldn’t or couldn’t eat. The most common sedatives given to patients were chloral hydrate, potassium bromide, and morphine, as pictured to the left.
Third annual report of the county and city of Worcester Pauper Lunatic Asylum, 1856
Source: Wellcome Collection.