• Source: Blue mass

Blue mass (also known as blue pill or pilula hydrargyri) was the name of a mercury-based medical treatment for syphilis common from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The oldest formula is ascribed to one Barbarossa, in a letter to Francis I of France.




Description


Blue mass was used as a specific treatment for syphilis from at least the late 17th century to the early 18th. Blue mass was recommended as a remedy for such widely varied complaints as tuberculosis, constipation, toothache, parasitic infestations, and the pains of childbirth.
The Edinburgh New Dispensatory (1789) instructs the making as follows: "Pilula ex Hydrargyro [London] (Quicksilver-pills). Take of Purified quicksilver, Extract of liquorice, having the consistence of honey, of each two drams, Liquorice, finally powdered, one dram. Rub the quicksilver with the extract of liquorice until the globules disappear; then, add the liquorice-powder, mix them together."
A combination of blue mass and a mixture called the common black draught was a standard cure for constipation in early 19th century England and elsewhere. It was particularly valued on ships of the Royal Navy, where sailors and officers were constrained to eat rock-hard salted beef and pork, old stale biscuits (hardtack), and very little fruit, fiber, or other fresh food once they were at sea for an extended period.
It was a magistral preparation, compounded by pharmacists themselves based on their own recipes or on one of several widespread recipes. It was sold in the form of blue or gray pills, or syrup. Its name probably derives from the use of blue dye or blue chalk (used as a buffer) in some formulations.
The ingredients of blue mass varied, as each pharmacist prepared it himself, but they all included mercury in elemental or compound form (often as mercury chloride, also known as calomel). One recipe of the period for blue mass syrup included:

33% mercury (measured by weight)
5% licorice
25% Althaea (possibly hollyhock or marshmallow)
3% glycerol
34% rose honey
Blue pills were produced by substituting milk sugar and rose oil for the glycerol and rose honey. Pills contained one grain (64.8 milligrams) of mercury.




Toxicity


Mercury is now known to be toxic, and ingestion of mercury leads to mercury poisoning, a form of heavy-metal poisoning. While mercury is still used in compound form in some types of medicines and for other purposes, blue mass contained excessive amounts of the metal: a typical daily dose of two or three blue mass pills represented ingestion of more than one hundred times the daily limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States today.




Use by Abraham Lincoln



For several years before his election to the presidency, Abraham Lincoln is known to have taken blue-mass pills for treatment of chronic melancholia. It's been reported that during this time, Lincoln was known to have experienced neurological symptoms, including insomnia, tremor and rage attacks, which suggests he may have been suffering from mercury poisoning. However, a few months after his inauguration, Lincoln reportedly stopped taking the medication because he perceived the pills made him "cross".
In 2001, a study led by renowned public-health investigator Norbert Hirschhorn recreated a typical formulation, concluding that the quantity of blue mass that Lincoln likely took would have delivered "a daily dose of mercury exceeding the current Environmental Protection Agency safety standard by nearly 9000 times," which may have adversely affected his health.




References






External links


Blue Mass
Abe Lincoln's Blue Mass Pills
Abraham Lincoln and His Little Blue Pills
Did Mercury in "Little Blue Pills" Impact Abraham Lincoln's Melancholy?
• Source: Blue Mass

A Blue Mass is a Mass celebrated annually throughout the United States in the Catholic Church for those employed in the "public safety field" (i.e. police officers, firefighters, correctional officers, 911 operators and EMS personnel). The color blue relates to the blue-colored uniforms predominantly used by these services. Similar to the Red Mass, the service honors those who have died in the line of duty and those currently serving as first responders. The Mass is an opportunity for the community to show gratitude to first responders and their families.




Background


In Washington, D.C., the service is held in conjunction with National Police Week. Psalm 91:11, "For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service]," are often invoked during the service. Though usually held in a Catholic church, non-Catholics are generally invited to attend.
The Blue Mass dates to September 29, 1934, when Rev. Thomas Dade started the service as part of his duties with the Catholic Police and Fireman’s Society. The first Mass was held at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., and has grown to a nationwide celebration. The September 29 service was timed to coincide with Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, the patron military saint of police officers and military.




See also


Gold Mass
Military ordinariate
Police chaplain
Red Mass
Rose Mass
White Mass




References






External links



"Blue Mass, A Celebration of Law Enforcement". The Catholic Diocese of Trenton. 2014-11-30. Archived from the original on 2014-12-26. Retrieved 2014-12-26.
Upadhye, Neeti (2014-10-26). "Blue Mass honors Pierson, area police". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 2014-12-26.

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