Lethal Lullabies

Abstract

Poppy extract accompanied the human infant for more than 3 millenia. Motives for its use included excessive crying, suspected pain, and diarrhea. In antiquity, infantile sleeplessness was regarded as a disease. When treatment with opium was recommended by Galen, Rhazes, and Avicenna, baby sedation made its way into early medical treatises and pediatric instructions. Dabbing maternal nipples with bitter substances and drugging the infant with opium were used to hasten weaning. A freerider of gum lancing, opiates joined the treatment of difficult teething in the 17th century. Foundling hospitals and wet-nurses used them extensively. With industrialization, private use was rampant among the working class. In German-speaking countries, poppy extracts were administered in soups and pacifiers. In English-speaking countries, proprietary drugs containing opium were marketed under names such as soothers, nostrums, anodynes, cordials, preservatives, and specifics and sold at the doorstep or in grocery stores. Opium's toxicity for infants was common knowledge; thousands of cases of lethal intoxication had been reported from antiquity. What is remarkable is that the willingness to use it in infants persisted and that physicians continued to prescribe it for babies. Unregulated trade, and even that protected by governments, led to greatly increased private use of opiates during the 19th century. Intoxication became a significant factor in infant mortality. As late as 1912, the International Hague Convention forced governments to implement legislation that effectively curtailed access to opium and broke the dangerous habit of sedating infants.

Reciprocal Evolution of Opiate Science from Medical and Cultural Perspectives

“…For three millennia, opium has been employed for the treatment of ailments in infants, notably to diminish pain, excessive crying, and typically for treatment of diarrhea [7]. Following the recommendations of Galen and Avicenna, administration of opium for sedation of babies made its way into early medical treatises and pediatric instructions [7].…”

“…Following the recommendations of Galen and Avicenna, administration of opium for sedation of babies made its way into early medical treatises and pediatric instructions [7]. Interestingly, one route of opium administration entailed the dabbing of maternal nipples with bitter opiate-containing preparations that operationally hastened weaning [7]. Furthermore, in the 17 th century, opium extracts were used for addressing discomfort from teething in foundling hospitals and by wet nurses [3].…”

“…During the industrial revolution, usage of opium within families was common among the working classes [7]. In German-speaking countries and regions, poppy extracts were administered to infants in soups and pacifiers.…”

“…In German-speaking countries and regions, poppy extracts were administered to infants in soups and pacifiers. Opium formulations were sold as soothers, nostrums, anodynes, cordials, preservatives , and specifics at the doorstep or in shops [7]. Despite the observed toxicity of opium in infants, physicians continued to prescribe it for this particularly susceptible population [8].…”

Poppies as a sleep aid for infants: The “Hypnos” remedy of Cretan folk medicine

“…The Hypnos (meaning sleep in Greek) remedy of the Cretan traditional medicine is related to the folk use of the poppy plant to induce sleep in infants and children. The poppy family features 43 genera and 820 species [ 1 ], but this name was mainly attributed to the use of Opium poppy or Papaver somniferum L. (“opos”, juice in Greek, is referring to the plant’s psychotropic latex) [ 2 ]. The term is attributed to various preparations made from leaves, seeds, flowers or capsules of the plant, or to the plant itself [ 3 , 4 , 6 ].…”