For a moment, imagine that you are a new mother and enjoying the happier aspects of parenthood with your newborn baby. Of course, at some point, your little one will start crying uncontrollably because of teething, a painful process where the teeth start to emerge from the gums. How do you help your baby, who obviously going through a lot of discomforts, stop crying so you can both sleep soundly? What about rubbing whiskey on your child’s gums? As crazy as that idea sounds, this practice was at one point more common than you would ever dare to think. Since the 1800s, doctors and civilians agreed on the potential benefits of distributing hot toddies to babies as a sleeping tonic. In reality, though, even the smallest quantity of alcohol can inflict tremendous damage to a baby’s liver. Let’s take a closer look at this phenomenon and the repercussions.
Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup
No, this is not the title of a potion from the Harry Potter franchise. In reality, “Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup” was an immensely popular and socially acceptable tonic that was given to infants to help them sleep soundly. Appearing in the New York Times in the mid-1800s, this substance contained concentrations of alcohol and morphine and was widely embraced as a successful sleeping agent for infants. While the AMA condemned the drug in 1911, Mrs. Winslow’s continued to stay on store shelves until 1930.
Gripe Water for Babies
Another popular sleeping tonic offered to babies was gripe water, a formula that is still available in today’s market and used to contain high levels of alcohol. Back in 1851, Woodward’s formula was promoted as a colic and teething medication and contained 3.6% alcohol, as well as a combination of sugar and dill water. So how powerful was this substance? At one point, the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine compared a baby being fed a dose of Woodward’s to an adult gulping down “five tots” of pure-grade whiskey.
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The time for you to take back control of your life is now. If you are interested in one of our residential treatment or supervised detoxification/withdrawal programs, we are ready and waiting to speak with you at your disclosure. Call Asana now at (949) 438-4504 to learn how to overcome your drug abuse or addiction troubles today.
