Antique Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup bottle.
Known as “the baby killer”, Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup was marketed specifically to mothers for use by their children for everything from crying, teething and (among other things) dysentery, for which the opiates had a constipating effect.
One teaspoonful had the morphine content equivalent to 20 drops of laudanum (opium tincture), an amount sufficient to kill the average child. 😔 Many babies went to sleep soundly and never woke up again.
This concoction was hugely popular, selling millions of bottles during it’s time on the shelves. The advertisments feature caregivers/mothers giving precarious doses of the syrup to infants and children (in some cases appearing to pour the syrup bottle whole), causing many whom bought the patent medicine to follow suit and give unmeasured amounts to those in their care.
A fascinating chapter in the story of why medicines are so closely regulated today.
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