Medicine Atlas

How Healing Is Practiced
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Treatment

Tar-water

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Tar-water was a medieval medicine consisting of pine tar and water. As it was foul tasting, it slowly dropped in popularity, but was revived in the Victorian era, when it was used both as a tonic and as a substitute for strong spirits. Both uses were originally advocated by the philosopher George Berkeley, who lauded it in his 1744 tract Siris, A Chain of Philosophical Reflections and Inquiries Concerning the Virtues of Tar Water. It was regarded by medical experts to be quackery.

Facts
Classification
Status
Discontinued or Obsolete 1
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_water, lead section
Quote, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_water, lead section
Tar-water was a medieval medicine consisting of pine tar and water.
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.