The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1881-06-23
Some Interesting Facts that May Open the
Eyes Of Unwary Parents. ,o

1 H..a n
! IN Recently correspondent of the Sua
called attention to a practice in which
some coachmen have been detected in
| saving themselves trouble by dosing
! spirited horses with narcotics. A reput-
| able physician with whom reporter
,conversed on the subject, said: 'sWhen
q child is cross, peevish, fretful, rest
| less and troublesome, it is not an unus-
| ual thing for physician to be called,
who prescribes o 'quieting POWDER
! The nurse is sentt to the drug store with
| the prescription, is told how to admin-
| lister it and in short time, instead of
having a very wearisome and irritating
duty to perform, the nurse finds out
that all she has to do is to sit by and
watch drowsy child. The lesson is
not forgotten by the nurse. She is
known at the drug store; she knows the
number of the prescription, she knows
that she can buy it for few cents, and
she therefore possesses herself of the
sleeping powder, to be used whenever
she wants to have an easy job.
Wealthy parents think they can shift
their duties and responsibilities by hir-
ing servants to perform them. 1t looks.
SO easy. and seems such perfect meth
cd of avoiding the annoyance, the sleep
ACSc inv wal StilO 0CttI Vi tilo
system which is almost ,inseparable
from faithful attendance upon the heal
thiest child. lt-..- ...
'.But there are very many nurses now
who know how to make paregoric, lalld-
anuni, hydrate of choral, OF morphine
do the work of patient watching and as
siduous care. The result is that child
rem grow up stIpeiied under the inilu-
ence of drugs, with their mental facul-
ties impaired, and with n taste for slim
lfulants that often leads them to drunk
ards graves. No children are so for
tunate rs those of the moderately we'll
of persons who have means sufficient to
aid them in the ditidgery of household
cares, but who give to- their children
that personal care, that thoughtful su-
pervision, and that conscientious devo-
yotiOn to duty that can never be bought
with money, but are fondly forthcoming
from affection. There are also many
mothers who do not scruple to tighten
their cares by substituting drugs for du-
ty. The drug stores do a lively trade
in various nostrums with fancy names
which are simply well-known narcotics
in a disguised form. Opium is the COM
n,onest ingredient. The amount of this
/ stuff that is sold is absolutely frightful
~ 10 uo ahu
and nurses utterly ignorant of its dele-i
terions effects. 1t produces disorders of
the digestsve organs, constipation, and
a long train of successive ills ta&i1o
/ ,s'.Whata is tho tremetiypi Intelligent
parents must not either use these PERI
.nicious drugs nor permit them to be
used with their: children JStrict watch
must be kept for symptoms that will be-
tray the surreptitioHs use of the drugs
Thus only can agrowing evil be stopped
which threatens to infiict serious dam-i
age on the rising generation. If a child
which is generally noisy, boisterous and
lively, suddenly becomes drowsy, dull
and stupid, it is at least fair subject for
inquiry whether the cause may not be
found in the neighboiing drug store. = '
1.-The fact is there ought to be some
way of preventing the use of old pre-
sscriptions. At present. when q prescrip-
ton has been once filed at drug store,
there is no trouble in getting it renewed
without the orders of a physician. There
is also q very loose method of selling
narcotics in most of our drug stores,
which is crying evil. Physicians are
made responsible for much evil that oc-
ours from tho amateur practice of medi-
cine. Parents are too often in the habit
of using old prescriptions when the
symptoms of . disease resemble that for
which the prescription was originally
given. This is playing with f.e with .
vengeance" "+7 ~ '9 no. ''i''