Dr. Mark Fromer, an ophthalmologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said it makes sense that the medicine that was discovered on the ship was an eye wash to treat dry eye, a common condition even today. "It's easy to make: it's saline, which has a pH [acid balance] close to tears," he explained. "It's fascinating to realize that the problems that faced men and women thousands of years ago haven't changed."
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Learn more about the history of medicine from the U.S. National Museum of Health and Medicine.
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