Outdated Medical Treatments Used Throughout History

Children's Soothing Syrups

It would be deemed child abuse today for a parent to give their baby morphine, but this is exactly what millions of unassuming mothers everywhere did at the end of the 1800s when they purchased children's soothing syrups. In 1845, Jeremiah Curtis and Benjamin A. Perkins manufactured a medicine to help calm fussy babies, particularly those who were teething. The formula was from Curtis’ mother-in-law, Charlotte N. Winslow, who used this special concoction while caring for infants as a nurse.

Children’s soothing syrups contained sixty-five milligrams of morphine per fluid ounce and also included alcohol. The recommended dosage for infants six months and older was one teaspoon three to four times daily. In the case of dysentery, the dosage was suggested to be given every two hours until stools were no longer runny. The medication appeared to be working because constipation is a frequent side effect of opioids. However, at that high of a dosage, it is no wonder the medicine quickly received the name 'baby killer.' Due to legislation passed in 1911, morphine was required to be removed from the ingredient list. However, children's soothing syrups continued to be sold until 1930.

Keep reading to uncover yet another outdated medical treatment.