What were the so-called “everlasting pills”?

The everlasting pills were used to purge internal organs. They were made of Antimony, with a toxicity similar to arsenic, and reacting with gastric juices, produced compounds that stimulated vomiting and defecation.

It was an option often preferred to leeches, and the pill could even be reused once recovered from the feces. What was not known was that it caused long-term intoxication of the organism.

The name derives precisely from the fact that, disgusting as it may sound, they were washed after use, reused, and even passed down from generation to generation.