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Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup

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Morphine is another drug that was once legal and used in many so-called “patented medicines” that were sold over-the-counter. Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup is one of the more well-known “patented medicines” sold as a medicine to soothe teething babies. The product was supposedly developed by Mrs. Charlotte N. Winslow, who worked as a nurse, and contained morphine and alcohol. It was manufactured by Jeremiah Curtis, Mrs. Winslow’s son-in-law, and Benjamin A. Perkins beginning in 1849. In 1911, the American Medical Association issued a publication in which it accused Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup of leading to death in children. The product was still sold until 1930.