Paregoric

Paregoric, or camphorated tincture of opium, is a medication known for its antidiarrheal, antitussive, and analgesic properties. It was a household remedy in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it was widely used to calm fretful children. In the 20th century its use declined as governments regulated it. (In the United States, paregoric can still be found in the pharmacopeia, but it is a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act.)

The principal active ingredient is morphine (0.4 mg/mL). Other ingredients are benzoic acid, camphor and anise oil. The main effect of this preparation is to increase the muscular tone of the intestine, and also to inhibit normal peristalsis. Its main medicinal use is to control fulminant diarrhea. It is also an antitussive (cough suppressant). Problems with its use include opiate dependency and analgesia which can mask symptoms of diseases that need treatment.

Paregoric is sometimes confused with laudanum, because their chemical names are similar: camphorated tincture of opium (paregoric) vs. tincture of opium (laudanum). However, laudanum contains 10 milligrams of morphine per milliliter, 25 times more than paregoric. Confusion between the two drugs has led to overdose and deaths in several patients. Thus the term "paregoric" should be used instead of "camphorated opium tincture," since the latter may be confused with laudanum.

Paregoric was also used to calm Mormon babies in church, and for teething discomfort until it was upgraded to a Class III Narcotic and banned for sale "over the counter". It was also used to calm babies in orphanages in Honduras in the 1980s because it was cheaper and easier than feeding them throughout the night. This still may be true.

In popular culture

Paregoric is mentioned in the following works:

Literature

• Nelson Algren's short story "The Captain Has Bad Dreams"
• William S. Burroughs's epistolary novel The Yage Letters, his first novel Junky, and in Queer
• Robin Cook's Harmful Intent (1990)
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Three Gables
• Richard Fariña's Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me
• James T. Farrell's Studs Lonigan
• William Golding's Rites of Passage (laudanum is also mentioned in the book)
• Homer Hickham's The Coalwood Way (the user in the story is ironically named "Poppy")
• Rick Moody's novel The Ice Storm
• John Steinbeck's East of Eden
• Eudora Welty's short story "June Recital" from The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty (1980)
• The "anonymous" work Go Ask Alice

Stage play

• Alice Childress's play Wedding Band (as the reason for the lover's sudden illness)

Television

• Little House on the Prairie, in the episodes "A Matter of Faith" and "To Live with Fear"
• M*A*S*H, in the episode "The Yalu Brick Road"