The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1870-02-24
Baby Drugging.

a simple sense of I" fair play" would
seem TO demand that infants who have
succeeded in establishing foot hold
in the outer world of fits and fcvers,
tcething and tubs, should be. il not
aided. at least uhindcrcd in the une-
quail battle against n host of morbid
influences which they have to wage
during the first five years of lie
But such is not the case. As " the
odds were not already sufficiently
against them, mothers, nurses, and
patcnt.mcdicine veudcrs form them
selves into reserve corps and harrass
the hanks and rear OF the small defense
less body while the regular army Of
disease attacks its centre.
The most destructive weapon used
in this guerilla warcIare is opium or
some OF its derivatives. From the
plain paregoric of an earlier period to
the disguised carmaDativcs aud sooth-
ing syrups Of the present day, opiutc>
III some ioru have been by thousands
habitually administered to young
children, and numerous deaths, and
still more narrow escapes from death,
have thence occurred and are now
daily occurring \ letter from drug.
gust, calls attention TO the enormous
salc of preparation Known as
Soothing syrup an analysis OF
which is alleged to detect large per.
centagc of morphine, and from which
several cases of narcotic poisoning have
been reported in medical periodicals of
high authority. Now. it i, well known
that not only are children proportions
ately less tolerant than a lults of the
action Of opiates, but tha, in them the
operations Of these drugs is exceeding
capricious aud uncertain and hence
medical writers are unanimous in i'm
pressing the utmost caution in their nd
M MS ration to young. Hoffman states
that opla'os are dangerous TO children
not only 10 their immediate effects.
but a leading, in some instances. to
"pcrmancnt mental imbecility aud loss
of muscular power aud wan, against
the popular custom OF giving anOdynes
for slight attacks Of collie or other pain
TrOusseau asserts that he has frequent.
y seen infants poisoned By Il dos, o!
wine Of opium containing not more
than oIe hundredth Of II grain of OPT.
um. Hundreds f cases are recorded
in which children rangin, ia age from
u few days to a year or more, have
been fatally poisoned by preparations
c c'ntainiug opiates, AMI thou'ands o;
o der invalids are sUflrrin. the couse-
quences OF II druggci infancy.
II may be consolation to an ignor-
ant mo,her to quiet her iretiul child .
with a cOmpuuui which she sees ad-
vcrli,ed as harmless it may be Il
to an unprncipled nIrse to
r l,eye herself OF trouble by Supplying /
her little charge VITA a drug which .
she knows to he elective in is ope-
ration but. however desirable these .
domestic ends be deemed, 1t is well /
that the other side ofthc picture should .
be shown, aud the wcll.luteutiored IL
norance should be enlightened aud .
want OF priucipIe exposed. Ii would .
he still better If the compounders OF
all patent patent medicine, whether
for children or for grown peo.
PIE were forced by law to print upon
the label Of every box or bottle OF their
wares the names aud proportions OF
the different ingredients, in order tina,
the purchaser might judge Tor him
sell, or ascertain from proper author
ty, whether they were devoid Of dan.
ger.