What Is Paregoric

Paregoric is a tincture that is made including opium that was in wide used during the 18th and 19th centuries as a home remedy as an anti-diarrhea cure, an analgesic, and it was used for calming fretful children.

This tincture could be obtained at pharmacies, and still can by prescription, and is known as tichtura opii camphorata and its principal active ingredients are powdered opium, benzoic acid, camphor, glycerin, anise oil and purified water.

During the 20th century Paregoric used has declined from a regular household cure-all because it has been regulated and can only be purchased after being prescribed by a physician. Prior to this it was a tincture kept in every home and used for a variety of ailments. It was in the 20th century but the government decided to regulate Paregoric due to its opium content, which is known to be addictive. Prior to this it was used even for children and there was no realization about the addictive properties of opium estimates roughly used by families and prescribed by physicians. Today Paregoric can still be prescribed by physicians for patients with chronic pain, although there are other medications that can be prescribed instead are not as addictive.

While it is similar to laudanum because their chemical names are similar camphorated tincture of opium is the pharmaceutical name for Paregoric and for laudanum pharmaceutical name is tincture of opium. Their ingredients differ as laudanum is made with alcohol and Paregoric is made with purified water.