Comments | 1

  • Submitted by cgrotke on November 7, 2021 at 9:05 am

    A little too soothing...

    Thanks for the link…

    “The syrup contained morphine 65 mg per ounce, as well as alcohol. One teaspoonful had the morphine content equivalent to 20 drops of laudanum (opium tincture); and it was recommended that babies 6 months old receive no more than 2-3 drops of laudanum.

    One teaspoonful contained enough morphine to kill the average child. Many babies went to sleep after taking the medicine and never woke up again, leading to the syrup’s nickname: the baby killer.

    Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup was hugely popular. In an 1868 court summary, Curtis reported selling more than 1.5 million bottles of the remedy annually.”

    Article says they had to eventually take the morphine out and stop calling it “soothing”, but it was still sold until the 1930’s.

    …..

    Brattleboro 1857 “Mothers! No mother who has ever tried Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup for Children Teething will ever consent to let their child pass through the distressing and critical period of teething without the aid of this invaluable preparation. Price only 25 cents a bottle.”

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