Did you know the well-known mouthwash Listerine began as a surgical antiseptic?
Before Louis Pasteur formulated germ theory and became known as the father of microbiology in the mid-1800s, people died unnecessarily from infection, particularly during surgery. Fracastoro of Verona postulated in 1546 that small germs could cause contagious disease, but there was no correlation with wound infections. Pus was considered a normal part of the healing process.
Surgical procedures were primitive when Dr. Joseph Lister began his practice in the 1800s. The prevailing theory about surgical wounds becoming infected was that a noxious substance rose from the wounds, causing “bad air.” This substance, called a miasma, coming from rotting organic compounds, was seen as the cause of epidemics. However, Lister was not convinced, because when wounds were debrided and cleaned, some of the wounds healed.
Lister had an epiphany when he read Pasteur’s research in putrefaction and came to the conclusion that the process behind fermentation might be involved with wound sepsis.
He began spraying carbolic acid, or phenol, on compound fracture wounds, in which a broken bone pierced the skin. These injuries were associated with an extremely high rate of mortality. They were often treated with amputation to prevent sepsis and gangrene.
Lister’s methods were initially met with skepticism, but eventually revolutionized surgery. Inspired by Dr. Lister, Robert Wood Johnson and Dr. Joseph Lawrence modernized surgical sterilization techniques and established the iconic Johnson & Johnson medical company.
In 1879, Dr. Lawrence developed an alcohol-based surgical antiseptic which included eucalyptol, menthol, methyl salicylate, and thymol. The exact formulation is a closely-guarded trade secret. Lawrence named his antiseptic “Listerine” in honor of Dr. Joseph Lister.
Lawrence hoped to market the product as a general antiseptic as well as a surgical antiseptic. He licensed his formula to a local pharmacist named Jordan Lambert in 1881. Lambert founded the Lambert Pharmaceutical company in 1895, which promoted Listerine to dentists for oral care. It was later sold in a distilled form as floor cleaner and as a cure for gonorrhea.
It was not successful in the oral hygiene market until the 1920s, when it was pitched as a cure for “chronic halitosis,” an arcane medical term for bad breath. Listerine ads featured young women and men seeking marriage, but who were appalled at their potential mate’s foul breath. “Can I be happy with him in spite of that?” one maiden asked.
Advertising scholar James B. Twitchell wote, “Listerine did not make mouthwash as much as it made halitosis.” In a mere seven years, sales rose from $115,000 to more than 8 million dollars.
From 1921 until the mid-1970s, Listerine was marketed as a remedy and a prophylaxis for sore throats and colds. For a brief period starting in 1927, the Lambert Pharmaceutical Company marketed Listerine cigarettes.
From the 1930s and into the 1950s, advertisements claimed that applying Listerine to the scalp could prevent “infectious dandruff.” In 1976 the Federal Trade Commission ruled that these claims were misleading.
In 2019, Listerine was again in the forefront of misleading medical information. Purportedly, using Listerine could protect you from COVID-19. Listerine issued a public statement saying: “There are no evidence-based clinical conclusions in regard to the antiviral efficacy of Listerine antiseptic mouthwash at this time” and that “more research is needed to understand whether the use of mouthwash can impact viral transmission, exposure, viral energy, viral load, and ultimately affect meaningful clinical outcomes.”
