Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-28
Patent Medicines.

Throughout this series Of articles 1t
| has been the aim Of the childrens bu-
reau to urge mothers to put into eff
fect such measures as will keep their
children we'll. Little or no advice has
been given for curing them after they
become sick That work belongs. prop
erly, to the doctor, and, whenever pos
sible, sick babies should be under the
care of good physicians.
| This is not even the domain of the
mother. Except for the simple all
ments which require ordinary hygienic
| meas ures for their relief. such as with
| drawing the baby's food temporarily.
giving cool baths. and the like, the
Judge exactly what Is the matter with
| sick baby, nor what treatment he
needs for his relief. 1t is especially
dangerous for the mother to give the
baby medicines. except under doctor
orders. There are only few medl-
cines that the doctor will prescribe for
baby Even in the worst cases he
must rely chiefly upon nature TO re
store the impaired functions. and his
whole attention is directed toward as
sisting nature in this effort. Conse-
uuently, the administration Of medi-
| cine must be done by a person qualihed
| to judge what drug. in what amounts
and at what intervals. may most rea-
sonably be expected to accomplish inns
end.
| Mothers are warned nowadays against
the indiscriminate giving OF most OF
! the herb teas which our grandmothers
gave to their children, and the vari-
Gus similar decoctions. brewed and ad-
ministered in accordance with some
traditional rule. 1.-TWO ablespoonfuls
Of camomile tea to s De taken at ped for
day spent in Mr.. McGregor's luscious
| but forbidden garden.
The best that can be said for these
household remedies is that many OF
them were comparatively harmless ana
many entirely useless.
| The Young of this generation are,
however. threatened with the far more
, serious danger that lies In the wide
the great increase in the habit of TAX
i ing such medicines without knowing
what they contain. or understanding
clearly what the effect will be.
especially intended for babies. These
are widely advertised under the name
or "teething powders. Infants,
Or .tteeething powders" infants infants
and other mixtures advertised to cure
the ills of teething, to soothe the baby
| Dr. cure diarrheas. Group and whooping
cough. Such remedies may be dan
their use. They usually contain opium
or some other narcotic drug In some
form. and it is because of these drugs
| that the medicine "soothes' the baby.
!. Unhappily, good many babies are
SO effectually "soothed" that they never
wake again. There are numerous cases
| on record OF babies who have lost their
lives because of an overdose of one of
these medicines. But even when this
does not happen the frequent dosing OF
a child has another very serious posi-
bility of harm in that it may cultivate
in him the beginning of a drug habit.
| If a baby is given a dose OF medicine
and ceases his fretting and then as
| the effect wears off is again fretful and
restless until another dose is given 1t
i the medicine. In view Of these posi-
bilities. no intelligent mother will be
willing to run the risk of giving any
medicine to her children whose com
position and effect she does not fully
understand.
! 1t was partly to protect people
against these and many other similar
medicines containing harmful drugs
and against advertising of wonderful
! cures that the federal fnod and drug
! act was passed in 1906. This act, in SO
far as it relates to drugs. requires that
the quantity and proportion of certain
dangerous drugs appearing in the med
| icine must be clearly stated on the label
of the bottle. Some Of the drugs men,
| toned in the act are alcohol, morphine,
opium, cocaine. chloroform, heroin, al
pha or beta eucain, cannabis indica.
| choral hydrate. or acetanelid. and
many derivatives, including laudanum
and paregoric.
In addition, the mother should always