In the early 1900s, the most popular douche was Lysol. It was made with cresol, a compound that caused inflammation and burning, but marketed to women as safe and gentle for maintaining “dainty feminine allure.” Doctors recorded hundreds of Lysol poisonings and scores of deaths from uterine irrigation. Read about a young, poor, and unwed pregnant Italian immigrant 100 years ago in the novel Tazia and Gemma (see more about the book in NOVELS).
