Talk:Lydia Pinkham

Untitled
I edited the page to include information about the uses of the various herbs in the formula. Black cohosh is hardly the only active herb and all had traditional uses. I do question whether Jamaica dogwood is in the moderggggn formula as tincture manufacturers of my acquaintance have difficulty sourcing actual Jamaica dogwood. Also the last time I checked there was ferrous gluconate in the liquid formula which destroyed the taste. My bottle is older than 2004, so I don't know if they removed it. And Walgreens is hardly the only source, so I will probably take that sentence out after I verify it.

Also the FDA did not curtail the activities of the company, but did require certain changes in the formula.

This artical contains little information about Lydia herself - it is mostly about her herbal remedy, and what information there is is mingled into the details of the remedy, and accounts of the actions of her descendants. Perhaps the artical needs restructuring? Or is someone else working on this? If not, I will have a go at the weekend. Slothie 09:41, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Needs a MAJOR Scientific Overhaul
Like many articles about "alternative" remedies, this one seems to have been infiltrated by woo-woo practitioners and their followers. The last paragraph in the "Vegetable Compound" section has, shall we say, a rather biased tone, and is decidedly illogical and anti-scientific. Only an idiot would write that the product's use by Native Americans and the Chinese "gives credence to at least some relief being actively given even if double blind tests have not been done to confirm their usefulness." So, Wikipedia is now advising people to IGNORE rigorous scientific investigation, and to follow an Appeal to Antiquity? And to make matters worse, the person who wrote that uses a 1936 article in TIME magazine as a reference. I mean seriously, who's policing this stuff? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.126.226.142 (talk) 10:41, 1 June 2012 (UTC)

Personal
I've just come across a good book about Mrs Pinkham which fills in some of the personal details. She was an abolitionist and a spiritualist. She believed in her compound making it originally for herself and friends for years before a financial crisis persuaded her to sell it. The ingredients of the remedy as she made it were all established herbal remedies of the day; except perhaps for fenugreek which was regarded as a mild aphrodisiac. So, my source. Jeremy (talk) 02:50, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

I've just lost extensive edits on Lydia Pinkham which took me an hour to put in! Bloody temperamental computer! Now must go! Bugger! Anyway my source is: Female Complaints: Lydia Pinkham and the Business of Women's Medicine by Sarah Stage. 1979 W. W. Norton and Co, ISBN 0-393-00033-8 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jeremytrewindixon (talk • contribs) 02:00, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Please consider using ibid in the list of references because (1) that is the usual style and (2) it makes the list look a bit less repetitive. Thanks. Gomberg (talk) 13:23, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, please represent women as stupid idiots who tell lies about flaming useless herbs... it will serve womenkind well.. yadda yadda yadda.. its only herbalist claims.. the only real active ingredit was ethanol.. now why would her compound relieve period pain ?? dandelions are used as insecticide, its not the herbs... it couldn't be the alcohol could it ? :) 202.92.40.202 (talk) 07:15, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

???
Surgical removal of ovaries for MENOPAUSE SYMPTOMS? Can I be the first to call bullshit? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.169.50.167 (talk) 01:51, 5 May 2011 (UTC)
 * I would expect one to lead to the other as a matter of simple logic ... but as a treatment? Definitely not. Possibly as a treatment for severe menstrual or related problems... 62.196.17.197 (talk) 09:54, 9 April 2013 (UTC)


 * My mother had her ovaries removed in 1985, to deal with very severe symptoms of menopause. It helped her a great deal. Rissa, copy editor (talk) 19:13, 19 January 2015 (UTC)

Ruined h
"Isaac Pinkham was ruined h was permanently broken under the associated stress..."

This clearly needs rewriting. Does anyone know what was supposed to go here? Rissa, copy editor (talk) 18:37, 19 January 2015 (UTC)

Aroline?
"....and a daughter, Aroline Chase Pinkham, in 1857.

Could someone confirm that "Aroline" was her actual name and not Caroline? Rissa, copy editor (talk) 18:40, 19 January 2015 (UTC)


 * Aroline was indeed the daughter's actual name. source  •  Maurog   •  15:13, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

Single source
The substance of this article quotes only one source. It obviously needs others to make sure it has a fair and balanced tone. Rissa, copy editor (talk) 18:57, 19 January 2015 (UTC)

Copy editing
There are very few articles on Wikipedia that can't use a bit of copy editing. I get the feeling this entry was written by one person who now regards it as his/her property and that it is perfect as written. I also very puzzled that I was accused of "vandalism" when nothing I changed even comes close to that. If you can't handle simple copy editing changes made to something you have written, then you shouldn't be here. Whoever wrote this should take a look at these two guidelines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Ownership_of_articles and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Vandalism. Rissa, copy editor (talk) 19:08, 19 January 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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External links modified
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Medicinal compound redirect
Is there any reason that the generic page "medicinal compound" redirects here. As a very specific marketer/brand of a remedy product, and one of only historical significance, I do not believe this epitomizes the phrase "medicinal compound." It should probably instead redirect to "Alternative medicine", or even "Snake oil," or "Quackery."

Would anybody object to this change being made?Jtrnp (talk) 01:20, 26 May 2018 (UTC)


 * First, just to correct your premise, I don't believe the term "medicinal compound" was ever used by Lydia Pinkham, whose tonic was marketed as a "Vegetable Compound". "Medicinal compound" only seems to occur in the song, "Lily the Pink" (and not even in the earliest, WW1, version of that, which refers merely to "wonderful compound"). My attempts at Googling the phrase lead only to direct or indirect references to the song. So arguably "medicinal compound" should redirect to Lily the Pink (song).


 * If the term is used more widely, is your assumption correct that it necessarily refers to alternative/quack medicine? The hatnote currently reads "'Medicinal compound' redirects here. For the general term, see Pharmaceutical drug" – although Pharmaceutical drug now seems to be a redirect to the even more generic term Medication.


 * So it would help clarify things (in my mind, at least) if you could point to any other explicit usages of the phrase. GrindtXX (talk) 12:09, 26 May 2018 (UTC)

Clarify, please
The Esteses broke from the Quakers over the slavery issue in the 1830s.
 * Not clear about the split within the abolitionist movement. What were the issues? Valetude (talk) 17:48, 25 November 2018 (UTC)