What is Laudanum?
[[File:Laudanum.jpeg|thumb|150px|A bottle of Laudanum]] [[File:Opiumtinktur-Flasche.jpg|thumb|150px|A bottle of Laudanum used in pharmacies, in the 19th century. The bottle can hold 5 litres, which shows how common it must have been]] '''Laudanum''' is the name of a [[tincture]] containing [[opium]]. A tincture is usually an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in [[ethanol]] (ethyl alcohol). Laudanum is dissolved extracts from the [[opium poppy]] (''Papaver somniferum'' [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]]) in alcohol (ethanol). [[Paracelsus]] thought that it was good for treating almost anything. According to Paracelus, laudanum consists of about 9 parts [[wine]], and one part [[opium]]. Other ingredients, such as [[henbane]], [[mandrake]] and [[deadly nightshade]] were commonly added. Since its discovery in the [[16th century]], laudanum was often used to treat different diseases. Its popularity and use is comparable to the modern drug [[aspirin]]. Its main effect was that of the opium: it was a [[painkiller]], and a [[sedative]]. The main problem is that opium causes [[addiction]]. This was only understood in the [[19th century]]. Towards the end of the 19th century, there were good alternative drugs. [[England]] banished [[opiates]] from open sale in the 1920s, and [[Germany]] regulated their use in 1929. Laudanum, like other opiates, was used as a painkiller, and a sedative. Until the 1970s it was used to treat clinical [[Depression (mental illness)|depression]]. Laudanum is dangerous to children as it is easy to [[overdose]]. Today, laudanum is still used to treat severe cases of [[diarrhea]] which sometimes occur with [[chemotherapy]]. {{Cough and cold preparations}} [[Category:Opioids]]