Real Time Show on History Channel

[hearlady]

I'm watching a show right now on the History Channel about the History of drugs in America. I posted under this category because in days gone by I remember my mother gave us paregoric for diarrhea. I told my husband and he said his mother gave it to him and his siblings for various things like teething along with diarrhea. We remembered it knocked us out.
We looked up what it was and it was a form of opium. No wonder it cured all!
What things or practices did your parents do that would never be done these days?

 

[Don M.]

Up until perhaps 1950, various forms of Opium were probably the most commonly used drugs....many of them were "over the counter"...and they probably helped more than most of this "ask your doctor" crap that exists today...primarily to make the drug companies rich. As I recall, my parents "cure all" was an enema...If I came down with anything other than a minor head cold, I could count on some Serious bathroom time.

It seems that things are coming full circle with drugs....Opium, in its various "Oxy" forms seems to be the drug of choice being prescribed by more and more doctors....so much so, that Opioid use and addiction/overdose are becoming one of the nation's biggest health concerns.

 

[Ruth n Jersey]

I remember most cough syrups contained a lot of alcohol. I slept like a baby after a dose. I was given paregoric also as a child. My Mom had a little tin of very small pink tablets. When I was older and suffered from severe cramps and or headaches she would dole out one of those pink tablets and it cured everything. I would be on cloud nine. I'm pretty sure they contained phenobarbital but she got them over the counter in the 50's. Donnatal was another one that calmed the stomach and was easily purchased.

 

[retiredtraveler]

.....What things or practices did your parents do that would never be done these days?

Spanking..... Of course, only happened once or twice to me! layful: