The Victorian Practice of Using Smelling Salts to Revive a Person After a Fainting Spell

Daven Hiskey of Today I Found Out looked at the Victorian practice of using smelling salts to revive someone (mostly women) who has fainted. He also explained what smelling salts are actually composed of and how they work.

But smelling salts were a real thing, used for centuries to rouse both men and women from fainting spells ...It was not until Georgian and Victorian areas of the late 18th to 19th century that smelling salts truly became fashionable.

The active ingredient, ammonium carbonate, was usually mixed with fragrant oils or perfumes to dilute the mixture but still have its desired effect of rousing the victim. Ammonium carbonate, also known as sal ammoniac, is found naturally in glacial, volcanic and geothermal areas and causes irritation to the nasal passage. This then causes the victim to inhale deeply.

During this period, ammonium chloride or carbonate was typically dissolved in a mixture of water, vinegar, or alcohol, and various perfumes like lavender oil to create what was known as aromatic spirits of ammonia. This was then soaked into a piece of sponge and carried around in often elaborately decorated bottles known as vinaigrettes.

While smelling salts have largely disappeared, it is still found in sports such as boxing and hockey.

smelling salts all but disappeared from the US market ...However, ammonia inhalants continue to be manufactured in other countries and remain extremely popular in many professional sports, including boxing, weightlifting, and American football, where a quick pick me up to temporarily restore alertness and performance can mean the difference between winning and losing a match.

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